Forgotten
by Advent of Shadows
Summary: Naruto had no way of knowing how that single slip of paper would change his life. Now a devil, his life has completely changed. With new friends and enemies, Naruto's only choice is to become the strongest devil that he can be and uncover the meaning behind his strange dreams.
1. A New Life

Summary: Naruto had no way of knowing how that single slip of paper would change his life. Now a devil, his life has completely changed. With new friends and enemies, Naruto's only choice is to become the strongest devil that he can be and uncover the meaning behind his strange dreams.

Pairings: Naruto/Akeno; Issei/Harem

Warnings: If you've ever read the manga or the light novels, you know that Highschool DxD isn't for little kids. Don't be surprised when this is at least as explicit as the canon series.

Notes: I've never watched the anime, though I've read the manga and am reading the light novels. The Light Novels will be the guide I follow for this story, though I will only loosely follow that guide.

Also, this story will not resemble a typical crossover to most people. Simply put, this story is a _rebirth story. _By that, I mean that this Naruto is a reincarnation of the canon Naruto. He will be different from how he is in the canon series due to the different life he has led, but he is still Naruto.

* * *

**1. A New Life**

About a mile away from Kuoh Academy, Naruto Namikaze was walking down the road, making his way to his simple apartment. The sun had set a few hours ago, but he had only just gotten off work. The monotony of going to school and work day in and day out was definitely getting to him, but he was an emancipated minor, so he did not have much of a choice in the matter. If he did not work, he had no way of taking care of himself, after all.

Before too long, he reached the apartments. They were not the nicest around, but they were cheap and within walking distance of his school and his job.

Stepping through his apartment door, Naruto began to empty his pockets, leaving his keys and wallet on the table right next to the door. Surprisingly, he felt something else in his pocket though. Reaching into it, he retrieved a folded piece of paper. Unfolding it, Naruto looked at the slip of paper curiously. He vaguely remembered that some girl was handing them out after school. An artistic pentagram was drawn on it.

There was some writing on the piece of paper about having a wish fulfilled, but he did not take it seriously. He did like how the drawing looked, though. That was one of the reasons that he did not simply throw it away. The only other reason was that he just felt as though he would regret it if he did, though he did not understand why.

Moving to the kitchen, he sat down and let a sigh escape his lips.

He could not help but wonder what it was like to be a normal kid. For the first sixteen years of his life, he had lived at the local orphanage. No one knew who his parents had been, and there had never been any attempts to adopt him. There had never been anyone to really go home to, and that statement only became truer after he obtained emancipation. As such, there had never been anyone that he saw in a familial manner

And as much as he hated to admit it, he had never really had friends either. There had been kids that he played with occasionally when he was younger, but most ended up leaving the orphanage after only a couple of months. As a result, he had stopped trying to make friends and instead started pulling pranks on anyone and everyone.

Mostly out of habit, he stayed a prankster until the end of his years in Junior High. The fact that no one was off limits to his pranks did not endear his classmates to him, and his reputation followed him to Kuoh Academy, despite the fact that he had not pulled a single prank since enrolling there. So he was in the last term of his second year at the school, and he had never really had a friend.

Looking down at the slip of paper that he still held in his hand, he wondered what it would be like to have a place to belong. To have a family and friends… that was something that he would have given anything for.

He had no idea what he had done by making that wish.

* * *

Rias Gremory was not surprised when she sensed that a human was using one of the contracts that her familiar had passed out earlier. It was a regular occurrence, after all. Her familiar had been ordered to pass out fliers that bore magic circles to humans with strong desires.

What did surprise her, however, was the request. Requests did not have to be made verbally. As long as a holder of a contract wished for something with all of their heart, the request would be understood by the devil that created the contract.

She had never seen a request like this latest one though. All the contractor wanted was to have a place to belong. Most requests were shallower than that.

Without wasting any time, she used her magic circle to teleport to the contractor's location.

Almost instantly, she appeared in a small apartment within a mile of Kuoh Academy. She had never been inside the apartments before, though she had seen the building before from the street.

Before her, she saw a surprised young man. He was seated at the kitchen table with a contract in his hand. It was not hard to figure out that he did not even know that devils were real. Most new contractors were actually told about devils beforehand by people that had previously made contracts with them. That was not to say that contractors without foreknowledge of devils were unheard of though.

"How did you get here?" he asked, shocked.

With a patient look in her eyes, she explained about the contract and about devils. She only told him what he needed to know, and the look in her eyes kept him from thinking that she was messing with him. It was through experience that she was able to do it. Her first few contractors had believed that she was part of a prank, after all.

"So I summoned a devil that can grant me a wish?" he asked in disbelief.

"You are close. However, we do not grant wishes. We provide services to fulfill your desires. It does not come without payment, though the payment can be negotiated," she told him. "Before I came here, you made the wish to have a place to belong. There are limits on what I can do, but what you want is within my abilities. However, I cannot do it the way you may be envisioning it."

"You can give me a place to belong?" he asked, genuinely shocked. She could see the desperation in his eyes. It was clearly something that he yearned for with all of his heart.

"How would you like to become a devil?" she asked him, staring straight into his eyes. "Become one, and you will join my peerage. Some might see it as master and servant, but it is much more than that. You will be among friends… family, even. I know it is not what you intended, but it is all that I can offer you."

She hoped that he accepted. She already had a Queen, a Bishop, a Rook, and a Knight, but that still left her with a Bishop, a Rook, a Knight, and eight Pawns in her set of Evil Pieces. While she knew it was a bad idea to carelessly fill the positions, she had a pretty good feeling about him.

It appeared as though he actually had to think about her offer. Despite being offered what he wanted, he was smart enough to think about what it would mean.

"How will this change me?" he asked after a moment.

"You will become stronger and be able to live far longer than a human. Unless you're religious, the only real downside is that you'll come to dislike daylight," she answered. It was a simplification, but she did not believe that she was being deceptive about it. "You will have responsibilities as a member of my peerage, but you can otherwise continue as you have been."

"Alright, I accept," he told her.

A smile graced her lips. "What is your name?"

"Naruto Namikaze," he told her.

The name was familiar to her. She was actually in the same class as him, but she had not paid him much attention before.

"I am Rias Gremory," she told him in turn.

"I thought you looked familiar," he muttered, looking at her with wide eyes. As one of the most popular girls at Kuoh Academy, it only made sense that he would have seen her before.

She reached into her pocket and removed something from it. Holding it up, she showed him that it was a crimson chess piece. A Rook, to be precise.

It was no different from the one that she had used to change Koneko Tojo into a devil. She was not sure why she chose her last Rook for this boy, but she had a feeling that it suited him better than Pawn, Bishop, or Knight would.

Shaking her head, she offered it to him.

Curiously, he took the piece. His eyes were glued to it as it merged with him.

The room was bathed in red light, and devil wings were visible behind him.

Internally, she could not help but be glad that it had worked. Her experience with Evil Pieces told her that the Rook had barely been enough to turn him into a devil. It seemed that he possessed a considerable amount of power.

"Consider yourself a member of the Occult Research Club now," she told him. "The club is my peerage, and I'm looking forward to introducing you to them tomorrow."

"I'll be there," he told her, looking down at his hands. He could already tell that he was changing.

Rias turned to leave, but she stopped mid-step. "And just as a word of warning, stay away from churches. You'll find that they are very uncomfortable. But more importantly, every living thing has enemies. Until you learn more about being a devil, you should be careful."

She saw him nod his head in understanding just before she left.

* * *

When Naruto woke the next morning, it only took him a few minutes to remember his radical decision the previous night. He felt incredible. His strength, speed, and reflexes were definitely better than they had been the previous day. All around, he just felt amazing.

Thinking back, he wondered if he had been a bit hasty to accept the offer to become a devil. The thought of becoming a devil did not bother him. He had never been a religious guy, after all. No, the only part that concerned him was the thought of becoming her servant. All he could do was hope that she had been honest with him before.

When he left his apartment for school, he realized why Rias had said that he would dislike daylight. The sun's rays seemed to sap him of his new abilities, reducing him to how he had been before he became a devil.

Any time he got away from the sunlight, he found that he began to recover though. So he actually felt pretty good throughout his classes.

During lunch, Naruto quickly realized that a few of his classmates seemed to be watching him curiously. Akeno Himejima and Yuto Kiba were the main two, though he also saw Sona Shitori, the President of the Student Council, watching him.

He was usually ignored, so it was definitely a surprise.

When class ended for the day, Naruto found Yuto Kiba waiting outside of his classroom. He did not know much about the first year. It was well known that girls liked him for his pretty boy looks, yet he never seemed arrogant because of it. If anything, he was too nice.

"Naruto-san, would you come with me?" he asked politely.

Naruto nodded and followed him down the hall. "Is the club meeting today?" he asked once they were halfway down the hall.

"We meet most days, but she wanted to introduce you to everyone today," Yuto answered.

"Hang on a second," Naruto said, pulling his cell phone out and going into his contact's list. There were only a few numbers there, so it made finding the correct number fairly easy. Once he found it, he called the number and brought the phone to his ear.

"Sorry boss, but I'm not going to be able to make it into work today," Naruto said once he heard the familiar greeting on the other end.

After being ranted at for a few minutes, Naruto hung up. His boss hated letting him off work. He always had. Naruto was one of the only employees at the ramen stand, but they did not get enough business to hire anymore. Personally, Naruto did not like his job there. The idea of working at a ramen stand had been far better than reality. For the last few months, he had actually been saving up so that he could quit and try to find another job. As it was, he had enough to go three months without work. Provided he stuck to his budget, at least.

"Okay, I'm ready now," Naruto told him.

Yuto nodded in understanding. "I didn't know you had a job, Naruto-san."

"I had to get one. I'm emancipated," Naruto explained. It seemed that it was a good thing he was emancipated now. Without anyone keeping an eye on him, it would not take any effort at all to hide that he was a devil, after all.

"You're a second year like the Rias-bucho and Akeno-san, aren't you?" Yuto asked, glancing at him.

Yeah, I'm not in any classes with them this year though," Naruto told him. He took that as a sign that Akeno was part of the peerage. That was not the only thing he took from Yuto's words though. The fact that he did not mention Sona, who was in the same class as Rias and Akeno, was very telling to Naruto. So while she watched him closely, it seemed that she was not with Rias.

Yuto simply nodded in understanding and continued on in silence.

The pair eventually reached the classroom that the Occult Research Club used. It was a fairly big room with seats, a large magic circle on the floor, and a bathtub on the other side of the room. He saw that Rias, Akeno, and someone that he had never met before were in the room. The third person was a cute girl with short white hair. He just knew that she did not attend Kuoh Academy.

"It's good to see that you found him," Rias said with a smile, looking at Yuto. Her eyes moved over to Naruto a moment later. "To begin, I'd like to introduce you to my peerage. Akeno Himejima is the Vice-President of the Occult Research Club and the Queen of my peerage. You have already met my Knight, Yuto Kiba. The only one you've never met is Koneko Tojo." When she spoke the name, she gestured to the silver haired girl. "She will be starting at the school next year, and she is my Rook."

Naruto looked surprised to hear that. That meant that she was fourteen or fifteen years old. He had doubted that she was any older than thirteen when he first saw her.

"Everyone, this is Naruto Namikaze, my new Rook," Rias told them. Despite her words the previous night about him becoming her servant, Naruto could not help but notice that nothing about her words or tone seemed to indicate that she saw him as such. He truly believed that she valued him in that moment.

"It's nice to meet you," Akeno greeted with a pleasant smile. Despite the gentle and kind demeanor, Naruto had a strong suspicion that there was more to her than there appeared.

"Nice to meet you too," Naruto told her in return. She was definitely one of the most popular girls in the school, so he had never expected that he would actually be talking to her so easily.

He turned to look at Koneko, only to see her acting coldly. He offered her a greeting, but she merely nodded frostily. He did not sense any hostility from her, only apathy.

"Now that you've been introduced to everyone, it's time to get you started on your responsibilities in the peerage," Rias told him, moving towards a cardboard box in the room. She picked it up and brought it over to him. "This is filled with contracts, just like the one that you were given by my familiar yesterday."

That explained why he did not see the girl that gave him the contract.

"When someone new joins a peerage, it is tradition for them to distribute contracts on their own. Once that's done, you will fulfill any requests that are made by the contractors. Once you make some progress, I can start teaching you more about being a devil," Rias explained. "You don't have to start doing everything right now though. You are welcome to stick around and get to know the others before you start passing them out."

From the sounds of it, it did not sound too bad. He just knew that he could get the contracts passed out pretty quick, and he had a feeling that they would not be too hard to do. At most, they would probably just be grunt work. While it definitely did not sound like fun, it could have been much worse.

In the end, Naruto spent some time around his fellow devils before he left to pass out the contracts. He quickly found that Yuto was a pretty interesting guy, and he actually seemed pretty curious about Naruto's life. Even so, he did not say too much about his past, considering it too be boring and pointless.

* * *

Once Naruto was gone, Rias looked up from her chess set at Akeno.

"So what did you think?" she asked curiously.

"He was interesting," Akeno remarked, moving a piece. "He appears to have been a good choice. He doesn't seem to have anything against devils, he's an orphan, and he lives alone. I can't say anything about his fighting capabilities though."

"I have a feeling that he will impress us," Rias told her. "I'm not sure why, but I expect great things from him. Perhaps we will see if there is more to him once we show him how devils fight."

Akeno looked at Rias curiously but did not say anything.

Yuto and Koneko both looked interested by their King's words. It was surprising to hear her speak so uncertainly.

* * *

Author's Note: I really hate writer's block. Sometimes, it helps produce an interesting idea though. That's actually where this came from.

I recently read the Highschool DxD manga and went on to the light novels. I actually finished reading the seventh one a few hours before I posted this. I have to say that it is a very interesting series, and I definitely have some ideas for it.

I will address two things that at least someone is probably curious about. Those things are the possibility of Naruto having a Sacred Gear and the pairing.

Yes, Naruto does have a Sacred Gear. It draws inspiration from the Naruto series, though you may only be able to tell once he has gotten more skilled with it.

And I know that Naruto/Rias seems to be a popular pairing, and I personally like Rias a great deal. However, I like Issei/Rias far too much to split them up. She is likely the single most important character in his harem. It becomes harder to imagine them apart once you've read farther into the light novels too. Akeno is about tied with Rias as my favorite female in the series, and I don't believe her presence in Issei's harem is that crucial. I also believe that she would suit Naruto well.

That should cover the main topics of interest. I'll be posting the second chapter in a couple hours. I'm currently halfway through the third chapter. It would have been out sooner, but I could not make up my mind on what piece I wanted Naruto to be. I actually changed my mind a few times after Chapter 1 was finished, though I'm pretty sure I took care of all the references to him being a Pawn or a Knight.

Anyways, thanks for reading.


	2. Training

**2. Training**

Two weeks had passed since Naruto became a devil, and things were looking up.

During the first week, he had passed out the box of contracts that Rias provided him and had actually completed a couple dozen requests.

The speed at which he completed the requests was only possible because he quit his job at the ramen stand. He was good at staying calm, but sometimes he still lost his temper. After being ranted at for leaving the stand short-handed, he just walked out and never looked back.

Being unemployed did not really bother him. He was on a scholarship, so he did not need to worry about school expenses. That only left his apartment, his utilities, his groceries, and his phone bill. That totaled up to around thirty thousand yen a month, and he had a little over a hundred thousand saved up.

He knew that he would need to find another job early on in the next school year started, but he was not too worried.

Naruto was more focused on his new life as a devil. He was really coming to enjoy it. It was nice getting to be around people that were actually interested in him too. Rias and Akeno both treated him fairly well, though he always felt as though they were watching him curiously. He had come to become fairly good friends with Yuto, and even Koneko had started to talk to him, though she was often curt with him.

During his second week as a devil, Rias had started to take him out at night and teach him about being a devil. One of the first things she taught him was how to use his devil wings. According to Rias, he was able to learn to fly much faster than Yuto or Koneko.

After learning to fly, Rias had moved away from physical training and shifted to more academic subjects. Before she taught him to fight, it seemed that she wanted him to know about Angels, Fallen Angels, Exorcists, and a variety of other supernatural subjects. One of the most interesting subjects that she had taught him about had to be Sacred Gears though.

While Rias, Akeno, and Koneko did not possess them, Yuto did. He had given Naruto a short demonstration of it. The ability to create demonic swords at will… it was definitely an interesting ability.

But now that he was finished learning about things like that, Naruto's training was finally progressing to the stage that he had been most looking forward to most. The time had come to learn about fighting as a devil.

"I was hoping to find a stray devil in the area so we could properly show you all about how we fight, but it shouldn't be put off any longer," Rias said as they gathered a few miles out of town. All the members of her peerage were present, barring the mysterious Bishop that no one spoke of at least.

Naruto had heard all about stray devils before, but he had yet to see one for himself. There had simply not been one near town since he had become a devil.

"Before we start, tell me what you know about the Evil Pieces," Rias said, looking at Naruto expectantly.

That was a subject that Naruto remembered vividly. The Evil Pieces were created by Ajuka Beezlebub, one of the Four Satans that presided over devils. They were created to replenish the devils that were lost in the last war between the Three Factions. Rias had also briefly mentioned that their creation led to the creation of the Rating Game, but she had merely brushed him off when he asked about it at the time.

Telling her what he remembered, he saw that she looked pleased that he had paid attention.

"You don't need to learn about the Rating Game quite yet. Only fully matured devils can even play. For now, let's focus on the matter at hand," she told him. "My explanation of the Evil Pieces to you was incomplete. I'll finish the explanation now. Each piece has a different area of expertise. As such, revived devils can vary greatly in terms of abilities. Knights, like Yuto, are gifted with great speed and mobility but have a weaker defense. Rooks, like Koneko, are gifted with great durability and strength but tend to be slower. Bishops are gifted in the magical arts. And Queens, like Akeno, possess the abilities of Knights, Rooks, and Bishops."

Naruto was honestly surprised to hear that. He had no idea that the piece used to turn someone into a devil mattered that much. He was left with a single question though.

"What about Pawns?"

She smiled at the question, having expected it. "Pawns do not have special skills in any area. Many people see them as the weakest pieces because of that. However, Pawns possess an ability that no other piece has. That is the ability of _Promotion_. While a Pawn is in the enemy's territory, they can promote themselves to Knight, Bishop, Rook, or even Queen, gaining the abilities of their new position. It's a temporary promotion, but it makes Pawns very versatile."

That definitely surprised Naruto. He remembered that a pawn could be promoted if it reached the other side of the board in a game of chess, but he had not realized that it worked the same way with Evil Pieces. Even so, he was not too concerned about that ability. He was a Rook after all, not a Pawn.

"I believe a demonstration is in order. I want you to see the abilities of Knight, Bishop, Rook, and Queen in action before we move on to your training," she told him. "I will fulfill the role of Bishop in this demonstration. My skill with magic should be sufficient to give you an idea of how Bishops fight."

Naruto watched intently as Yuto displayed his incredible speed and swordsmanship, slicing through trees with ease.

Koneko was next. While she did not move slow compared to a human, her speed was actually fairly slow for a devil. However, the lack of speed was made up for when she managed to break a tree in two with a single punch. The display allowed him to understand the power of a Rook.

She was followed up by Rias. She simply created blasts of magic from her hands, completely demolishing a portion of the forest.

The last to go was Akeno. She was truly the Queen of the peerage. She moved nearly as fast Yuto, snapped a tree with the brute strength of a Rook, and went on to demolish a slightly smaller portion of the forest than Rias did with a spell.

"Now, I believe it's time for your training to begin," Rias said, smiling at the look of awe on his face. "As a Rook, your physical strength and defense are already considerably higher than that of Pawns, Bishops, and Knights. Even so, incredible strength and defense are meaningless without skill. Koneko, would you do the honors?"

The smallest devil nodded her head and walked towards Naruto before dropping into a fighting stance.

"Naruto, come at her with everything you have," Rias told him.

Seeing that Yuto and Akeno looked very interested, he decided to give it his best shot.

Rushing towards her, he threw a punch at her head. She easily sidestepped it slammed her fist into his stomach. The force of her punch sent him flying backwards.

"Don't leave yourself so open," Koneko said, having already moved back into her fighting stance.

Naruto never even considered throwing in the towel. He simply rose to his feet and approached her again. He was not the type to give up, after all.

By the end of the night, he was sore and had been knocked to the ground dozens of times, but his tenacity had earned him Koneko's respect.

* * *

The following afternoon, Naruto headed to the Occult Research Club's classroom to meet up with everyone. He was not sure why, but Rias had asked him to stop by. He was not supposed to meet up with Koneko until after sunset to continue his hand-to-hand combat training, so he had absolutely no idea what they were doing.

When he reached the classroom, he saw that the only one that was not present was Rias.

"The President had to go home to get something," Akeno told him, seeing the look on his face. "She will be back before too long."

Naruto nodded. Her words seemed to make him even more curious though.

"You know, you've never told us much about yourself," Akeno remarked, watching him intently.

He was surprised by her words. No one in the peerage seemed to talk about themselves too much, so he had thought nothing of it. But then again, he supposed that they probably all knew everything about each other already.

"Nothing to say, really," Naruto told her a little sheepishly. "I was found outside of the orphanage when I was a year old. No one knew who my parents were, and I was never adopted. When I turned sixteen, I filed for emancipation and moved out. That's pretty much all there is to my story."

It was a rather simple story, but it seemed to interest the others, especially Akeno.

"Surely there must be something else that you haven't mentioned," Akeno remarked with a look of interest.

There actually was a little more. It was nothing that he would have mentioned normally, but he had experienced a few unusual dreams since he became a devil. Just the previous night, he had witnessed one such dream. His memory of it was fragmented, but he could clearly remember seeing a much younger version of himself fighting a man with only one visible eye. He saw no reason to mention it to Akeno. It seemed to be a series of strange dreams that had no purpose.

"I'm afraid not," Naruto told her. He was glad that his reply did not offend her in any way.

"Such a shame," she replied, laughing softly. "You make me very curious."

He did not know what to say, and he was saved from figuring out what to say when Rias arrived there through the magic circle. A book was held firmly in her hands.

"Everyone's already here. Good," Rias remarked, moving towards the table and placing the book down. "Naruto, it is time to see if you possess a Sacred Gear."

Naruto was surprised by her words and grew excited.

"Dattebayo!"

He looked surprised as the nonsensical word escaped his lips. It had been years since that last happened.

Looking, he saw that everyone appeared amused by the verbal tic. Akeno was not simply amused though. She had a clear smile on her face.

"We have no idea if you have a Sacred Gear," Rias continued once she was able to regain her serious demeanor. "I suspect that you do, however. It'll be a simple matter to find out, so just do as I tell you to."

Naruto nodded his head in understanding.

"Close your eyes and assume a pose that makes you feel like you can draw power from within," she told him.

Naruto did as she commanded. He was not sure what the pose should have been, so he simply clapped his open hands together, almost looking as though he was praying. A slight bend in his knees could be seen.

"Hmm… that did not work," Rias stated after a minute passed. "In that case, try to use your emotions to force the power out."

He did not really understand what she meant, but he did not ask. He thought about the Sacred Gear that he possibly had within him. In that moment, his greatest desire was to unleash his Sacred Gear. Worry and fear that he would not manage to awaken it were also present.

The combined emotions were enough, it seemed.

He could feel the power flow through him. It formed a ring around his neck that they were all able to see. The light that the power produced faded away, and he felt something hit his chest.

Looking down, he saw that he was now wearing a necklace. Hanging from it was a single magatama.

"I've never seen this Sacred Gear," Rias remarked. "I'm able to recognize quite a few on sight, yet I'm certain that I've never seen this one. That is why I went to get this book though. It is an encyclopedia of Sacred Gears. There should be information in here on every Sacred Gear that devils have encountered."

"Woah," Naruto said suddenly, earning their attention.

"What is it?" Rias asked in concern.

"I think I know what it does. Since this necklace formed, I've been able to smell, hear, and see way better than I could before. I can even smell chocolate from Koneko-chan's backpack."

They all looked surprised to hear that. Koneko actually removed a chocolate candy bar from her backpack, confirming his observation.

"Hypersensitive senses?" Rias asked, growing deep in thought. "That would make it an enhancement-type Sacred Gear. That gives us a point of reference at least. The encyclopedia is categorized by the types of Sacred Gears for cases such as this."

Naruto decided to leave the research to Rias and simply get used to his new ability. It was not as useful as Yuto's Sacred Gear, but _Perception_ was still useful.

* * *

A month had passed since Naruto unlocked his Sacred Gear. They never did find it in the encyclopedia, and it seemed that none of the devils that Rias contacted had ever heard of it before. So the only things they knew about it came from personal experience.

Koneko was placed in charge of Naruto's training for the rest of the term. So for three weeks, all he did after school was train with Koneko in hand-to-hand combat. He had definitely experienced a rise in his skill because of the training, but Koneko's speed and experience allowed her to beat him every time.

During his free time, Naruto ended up hanging out with Yuto quite a bit. The only times that he was not around the Knight was when he was training with his Sacred Gear.

Through the use of his personal training, Naruto had learned more about his Sacred Gear. By enhancing his perception, no one could sneak up on him. It also enabled him to predict movement to a certain extent. Using it during his training with Koneko had enabled him to dodge and block quite a few of her attacks. Shortly after that, Rias had forbidden the usage of his Sacred Gear when he trained with Koneko. She did not want him to become too dependent on it, after all.

When the final term of the school year ended and Spring Break began, Rias took over his training again. For the week of Spring Break, he trained with her outside of the city. Her main goal of the training was to hone his pre-existing abilities, but she also taught him how to use magic. He was not the most skilled magic user of their group, but he was not bad at it either.

Through her training, Naruto had achieved something unexpected though. His Sacred Gear had evolved. Instead of only a single magatama hanging from the necklace, it was now three. Each magatama seemed to govern a different attribute. He could only enhance a single one of the attributes at a time, but the variety made his Sacred Gear even better.

But his training was not the most important thing about the past month. Not to him, at least. Interacting with his new friends seemed far more important than his training to him. Things had been peaceful, so the need to combat skills did not seem too pressing. On the other hand, this was his first time having friends, so his interactions with them felt important.

Naruto could not claim to be friends with Rias or Akeno quite yet. Rias looked at him as a mystery, and it prevented them from getting too close. Akeno was simply kept busy with her responsibilities in the peerage, though she actually seemed interested in becoming his friend. He was fairly good friends with Yuto and Koneko though. Yuto was his first friend of the group, having bonded over little things. Koneko, on the other hand, became his friend during their training sessions.

He had no way of knowing that things were about to become far less peaceful in the future though. In another part of town, four fallen angels had just recently arrived.

* * *

Author's Note: This chapter should have been up soon, but I went to bed before I could post it, so it had to wait until morning.

Anyways, this is the last of the introduction chapters. Naruto may be the protagonist of the story, but Issei still has a major role. Things aren't really going to kick off until he shows up.

Now, I think I should address something. I've had a number of different people saying that Naruto should get a harem. That's not going to happen. I do like Issei, and his goal is to have a harem, so I'll let him keep his eventual harem (minus Akeno). Naruto, on the other hand, doesn't want a harem. Just wait until Naruto and Issei actually meet. Naruto will make his opinions known.

Also, I want to clear up a misconception that one of the readers appears to have had. In canon, Rias Gremory has Akeno Himejima as her Queen, Koneko Tojo as her Rook, Yuto Kiba as her Knight, and Gasper Vladi as her Bishop before the series began. After the series starts, she gets Issei Hyodo as her Pawn, Asia as her second Bishop, Xenovia as her second Knight, and Rossweisse as her second Rook. Naruto becoming a Rook in this story does remove one member from her peerage, but it is Rossweisse, not Gasper.

Anyways, next chapter, you'll get to see Naruto's first fight in the story and some interaction between Naruto and Akeno.


	3. First Encounter

**3. First Encounter**

A couple weeks had passed since the new school year started.

Much like he had two months earlier, Naruto was walking towards his apartment hours after the sun had set. This time, he was not coming home from work though.

As a servant of Rias Gremory, he had discovered that he actually received a salary. Since her peerage consisted only of young devils, it was a smaller sum than it would have been if they were all adults. Even so, he was now making even more money than he had when he worked at the ramen stand.

It had been a surprise to him to find out that he was going to get paid just for being part of her peerage, but Rias had pointed out that he would not be a servant if he was not getting paid. That was the difference between a servant and a slave, after all.

Naruto had come from his most recent training session with Koneko. It was one of the better sessions. For the first time, he had managed to knock her to the ground. Holding her off for a time was getting easier, but she was still a faster and far more experienced Rook than he was.

"So, there are devils around here after all. How repulsive…."

Naruto froze mid-step and saw a woman step out from the shadows. She was actually a fairly attractive woman with navy blue hair and brown eyes. Her violet clothes did not leave much to the imagination thanks to the large amount of exposed cleavage and the extremely short skirt that she wore.

"Who are you?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

She disregarded his question completely. "Who is your master, little boy?"

This time, it was Naruto who ignored her. Instead of answering her, he summoned his Sacred Gear. Unlike the first time he used it, it did not produce light when summoned. Given that she was not looking directly at him, he was certain that she did not even realize that anything had changed.

Using the first magatama's power, his perception experienced a boost. The moment that it was active, he felt something that he did not quite understand. Recently, he had come to realize that he could differentiate between humans and devils while his perception was enhanced by his Sacred Gear. This woman did not feel like either human or devil though.

"How dare you ignore me!" the woman hissed with fury. Suddenly, a yellow spear formed in one of her hands. He instinctively knew that it was made of light. Being in proximity to one of his weaknesses set his instincts on edge.

She hurled it at him with too much speed for him to dodge. If he was a Knight, he probably could have easily dodged it, but his speed was not great enough. Instead of trying to dodge it, he moved his right arm in the path of the spear and shifted the focus of his Sacred Gear.

With each stage of his Sacred Gear, his necklace gained a magatama. The first magatama governed _perception_. The second magatama, however, governed _durability_.

Combining the second magatama's power with the defense that he possessed as a Rook, he became much harder to hurt.

The spear hit his arm, but it was deflected off to the side because of the way it hit his arm. Where the spear struck him appeared to have been burned, but it still did not possess the power to pierce his skin.

"You're one of the Fallen, aren't you?" Naruto asked as he ran towards his enemy. Once again, he shifted the focus of his Sacred Gear. This time, he was back to perception.

"Indeed," she replied, forming a second spear of light. Puzzlement could be seen in her eyes. She clearly had not expected him to survive. "I am Kalawarner, one of the Fallen. You do not need to know more than that. You won't be alive long enough to find such information useful."

She hurled the second light spear at him.

Instead of taking the hit again, he side-stepped her attack without losing any momentum.

The third magatama governed _strength_, and it was time to show her what that meant.

He slammed his fist into her solar plexus with the enhanced strength of his Sacred Gear and his status as a Rook.

As she flew back, he brought his right hand up, palm facing her.

"Magic Bullet," he intoned, calling upon his reserves of magic. A blast of magic shot forth, engulfing the Fallen Angel.

It did not kill her, but it appeared to have severely injured her at the same time.

She was on her hands and knees with eyes full of fear. The arrogant Fallen Angel had never thought a reincarnated devil could have defeated her, and now she was coming to the realization that she was about to die. Her body was too severely injured for her to fight back any longer.

"Pathetic. How weak are you to lose so easily?"

Naruto's eyes widened at the familiar voice.

Looking, he saw Akeno walking towards them, dressed like a _miko_. Lifting a hand to the Fallen Angel, she produced a blast of electricity that killed her. The sheer ease that she did so was startling, but not as shocking as the sadistic look in her eyes when she looked at the Fallen Angel's corpse.

Her face softened when it turned to Naruto though.

"You did well. She was weak, but that was your first real fight. Most could not have survived so unharmed," Akeno said, offering him a smile. "Rias-bucho would have come as soon as the fight started, but she is busy with another matter at the moment, so I came in her place. I arrived right after she threw that first spear at you."

Naruto was surprised for a number of reasons. He did not really think that the Fallen Angel was weak, but he did beat her with only a few attacks, so it was not too difficult to see where she was going from. But that did not surprise him anywhere nearly as much as finding out that she had been there since the fight started without him noticing her. He had been so focused on the Fallen Angel that he had been unable to detect her presence. That was the best he could come up with, at least.

His Sacred Gear disappeared and he let out a deep breath.

"Damn, that leaves me feeling weak," Naruto muttered under his breath. Once he regained his breath, he looked at Akeno. "Thanks for showing up. I was a little worried there. If she hadn't wasted time talking, she might have been able to hurt me more with one of those spears than she did.

"Do you need help with that?" Akeno asked, looking at his arm.

"I'm fine," Naruto said, shaking his head. It would heal over time, and having a reminder of his mistake would be useful. If he focused more on speed training, he probably could have dodged it, even if only barely. Taking the attack head on had been a big mistake.

Akeno nodded in understanding before she turned back to the foe's corpse. Using his magic, she obliterated it.

When she turned around, she saw the shocked look on his face. "We leave bodies when we die, just like humans do. Unless you want the police looking around here, we can't just leave the bodies of our enemies lying around."

Naruto could not disagree with her there. She definitely had a point.

"Why don't you show me your place?" she suggested suddenly. Her tone became teasing as she continued. "And here I thought you'd be the one inviting me up to your apartment instead of the other way around." She laughed softly with a harmonious melody to it.

That actually brought a blush to his face and made him almost completely forget about what had just happened.

"Sure, it's just a few blocks away," he told her as he began to walk in that direction.

If he had looked back, he would have seen that Akeno appeared amused by the reddening of his cheeks.

* * *

"Not bad," Akeno remarked, looking around the apartment."You live here on your own?"

"Yeah, I moved in right after I was emancipated," Naruto told her. It was strange to think that the second most popular girl in Kuoh Academy was in his apartment late at night. Despite his recent progress with his new friends, Naruto was still somewhat awkward when it came to social interaction. When it came to girls, he had even less experience than he did when it came to friends, so he was not sure what to say or do.

She nodded her head, idly looking around the room. "Now that you are a servant of the Gremory family, you could afford a nicer place." A teasing smile graced her face at that point. "Who knows? If you had a bigger place, I might spend the night." She laughed softly once the words were out.

Even though he knew that she was teasing him, he could not help but blush at her words.

She did have a point though. He could probably afford to rent a small house with his salary. He did not really need a really nice place at the moment, though if he ever got into a relationship, it would definitely come in handy. Even if she was teasing, Akeno suggestive words brought up a point.

"I'll probably save up and get a new place before too long, but I'm good for now," he told her.

She merely smiled with a twinkle in her eyes.

"So what's Rias-bucho doing?" Naruto asked, suddenly remembering Akeno's words about her being busy.

"She was called away for a contract just a few minutes before the Fallen Angel approached you," Akeno told him, shaking her head dismissively. It was really a minor issue, or so they thought. "I'm glad too. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten to see you in action." A hint of teasing could be heard in her voice.

"What would she have done if she came instead?" Naruto asked, doing his best to ignore her teasing. He had actually heard a little about her from Yuto and knew that she enjoyed teasing her comrades. At school, she was completely different though.

"She would have stepped in and warned the Fallen Angel that this is her territory. If she did not leave, this Bucho would have killed her," she told him without hesitation. "If I had interfered, however, I would have killed her without warning. I was interested in seeing what you would do though."

A hint of sadism could be seen in her eyes as she spoke. He has seen her kill the Fallen Angel mercilessly, so he was not surprised by her words. Surprisingly, he did not find himself bothered by them either.

"I'm glad it was you then," Naruto told her seriously. "I'm not the kind of guy that wants someone else to fight his battles. If I can do it myself, I'd rather be the one to fight."

Akeno actually looked away from him. He could have sworn that he saw her red tint on her cheeks. When she turned her head back to him a moment later, it appeared that he was wrong though. She smiled brightly and laughed softly. "Oh my, well don't I feel special? You're saying you prefer me over Bucho?"

He did not know what to say to that. Thinking about it, he supposed that the answer was fairly obvious though. He did not have to give his answer though.

"You don't have to get so serious. I was only teasing," she said, giving him a wide smile. "But I wouldn't mind spending more time with you, Naruto-kun. Perhaps I should take over your training tomorrow. Oh my, it will be so much fun."

He did not even try to argue with her on that matter. From what he had heard and seen, Akeno's specialty was magic. Rias had told him that he had potential when it came to magic, so any training Akeno could offer him would have to be good.

"I'd like that… Akeno-chan," Naruto replied. He was a little worried that the suffix was a bit too bold, but she had called him _kun_, so he took the risk.

She did not look bothered by the suffix in the least. In fact, she was beaming. Turning around, she left without saying anything further.

Once she was gone, Naruto sat down and let out a breath that he did not even realize that he had been holding.

For the first time, he became aware that he had actually started to develop romantic feelings for someone. He had focused more on friends in the past, but it was hard to just think about friends when he was around Akeno. She was easy going and loved to tease him. While her sadism could be a little scary, it did not make him feel any differently about her.

Of course, he quickly saw an issue that he was not sure how to get past. With Akeno's teasing, he was not sure he could tell how she felt, one way or another. He could recognize when most girls liked another guy thanks to observation, but Akeno was not most girls.

Shaking his head, he decided to go and take a shower. He could worry about that later.

* * *

When the Occult Research Club met the next day, Naruto received a piece of shocking news.

Apparently, Rias revived someone as a devil while he was having his encounter with the Fallen Angel. He was a second year student by the name of Issei Hyodo. Naruto had heard of the kid before. He was part of the infamous _Perverted Trio_. It was a well known fact that he regularly peeped on girls.

Naruto had no issues with Issei though. He had never met the guy, and at least half the time, he managed to get caught peeping. As a result, he was regularly beaten up by the girls he peeped on. It was difficult for him to hate someone that was regularly beaten up for his actions, and it was even harder to hate a guy that never gave up, even after the aforementioned beatings. Now that Naruto thought about it, Issei reminded him of someone from one of his most recent dreams. There had been a white-haired man in his latest one. He was a self-proclaimed _Super Pervert_ and also had a habit of peeping on girls when they bathed. Where the dream came from left him confused, but he tried not to think about it too much.

"I will make contact with Issei Hyodo tonight," Rias told them. "He likely believes that he just dreamed that he was killed, so I will explain everything to him. Tomorrow, I'll introduce him to the club. Until the situation is taken care of, I would like everyone to be on their guards. The Fallen Angel responsible for his death is not the only one that has been seen around town."

As she said the last part, she looked at Naruto.

"Akeno told me about your encounter with another Fallen Angel last night. Are you alright?" Rias asked in concern. Her eyes shifted to his bandaged arm.

"I'm fine," he told her, shaking his head. "Like Akeno-chan said, she wasn't that strong. I didn't really think that light would be that strong."

The way he referred to the Vice-President of the club clearly surprised the others, none more so than Rias. Akeno just smiled at it.

"If it's alright with you, I've volunteered to take over his training for a little while," Akeno suddenly said, looking at Rias.

That surprised her too, but she nodded her head in agreement at the same time. "It should be beneficial for both of you. Just tell me if there are anymore developments with his Sacred Gear."

"Of course," Akeno agreed, glancing at Naruto.

Naruto did not like being seen as a mystery that needed to be uncovered, but he did not say anything. He was sure that Akeno realized his feelings on the matter all the same.

She gestured for him to follow her and began to make her way out of the room.

"I'll see you guys later. You too, Rias-bucho," Naruto said before he followed after her.

"Do you think something's going on between them?" Rias asked curiously just before Naruto was out of earshot. He did not hear a response, but he tried to forget about the question.

* * *

Author's Note: It seems that there has been a small misunderstanding. This chapter should have cleared it up, but I'll say it outright just in case. Naruto's Sacred Gear is not based off of the Rinnegan. As far as I know, the only connection between it and the Sage of Six Paths is the fact that it takes the form of a magatama necklace. It may have one other thing in common with him, but that's not something that has been confirmed in canon yet. I'll go one step further and say that one of the names I've been considering for Naruto's Sacred Gear is _Sage Body_. I'm not completely sure about the name yet, but that should give you an idea what it does.

I definitely have to say that writing Akeno is interesting. The way that her personality completely shifts sometimes is definitely fun. She seemed to kind and gentle throughout the first twenty or so chapters of the manga (barring the few occasions where she fought), only showing the full aspects of her sadistic, masochistic, and teasing sides later on. I hope I can do her justice.

Now, I'd like to address something hat I've forgotten to mention in the previous two author's notes. I'm referring to the name configuration. I actually planned on using the Japanese way and writing them as Namikaze Naruto, Himejima Akeno, etc. I changed my mind only because I hate using different configurations in the same story. When you have characters that aren't from Japan along with those that are from Japan, you can run into inconsistencies. I wasn't about to call Rias by Rias Gremory and then call Akeno by Himejima Akeno. I could have gone in the opposite direction, but I feel satisfied with what I've done instead.

Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing. Next chapter, I plan to bring Issei into the story.


	4. Welcome to the Club

**4. Welcome to the Club**

Training with Akeno was definitely a different experience. He had come to understand why Rias had once referred to her as the Ultimate Sadist.

The first training exercise they did was a general test of his abilities. She attacked him with fists, feet, and magic, and he was told to last as long as he could. Her incredible speed made it difficult to fight her with hand to hand combat, but he found that he could restrain her if she got too close. With his Sacred Gear, he could raise his strength to a higher level than hers. If he could grab her, she could not break free with her own strength.

The only time he successfully caught her, she hit him with a point-blank range Magic Bullet, forcing him to shift his Sacred Gear to defense and release his hold on her.

He had come to realize exactly how weak the Fallen Angel that he fought was. Even with his defense raised to its max, her spells could hurt him. Especially her Lightning and Fire spells.

Once he was unable to hold her off any longer, she let him rest and even healed her with her magic. Her healing spells did not work nearly as well as her destructive spells, but it was enough to make him feel better.

After that, she had started to teach him to use magic to a greater extent than Rias had. Rias had been satisfied teaching him Magic Bullet and how to use Transportation Circles. Akeno, on the other hand, had started teaching him to use some elemental magic. She also pointed out that his greatest weakness was his speed. It could be trained so that it was not as big of an issue though.

In spite of the sadistic way she acted when they sparred, Naruto really enjoyed their training. Akeno could be very easy going and patient. It was difficult not to respond to her teasing since she knew it got to him, but he did not really mind either.

Naruto was glad that he had always had a high recovery rate and that it had only increased since becoming a devil. Akeno had said that they would be training after the new member of their group was introduced after school, after all.

He was ready for anything though. Since encountering the Fallen Angel, he had begun to feel as though he now had a reason to grow stronger. That motivation grew even greater after seeing Akeno's power.

Entering the Occult Research Club's room in the old schoolhouse, Naruto saw that he was the last one there. Koneko was seated at the couch, while Yuto was standing within sight of the door. Issei Hyodo was standing next to him.

Glancing around the room, he saw that the shower was running, and the silloute of a naked girl could be seen through the curtain.

Sighing, he debated on hitting Issei over the head. He was clearly staring in that direction, but he decided to ignore the pervy action.

"You must be the newest member to the club," Naruto said as he approached him. "I'm Naruto Namikaze."

Issei turned towards him upon hearing his words and look surprised to see him. "Aren't you _Prank King Namikaze_?" he asked, taking a step backwards.

"_Prank King Namikaze_?" Yuto asked curiously.

"Yeah! This guy's infamous. He pranked every teacher at my last school when our schools played each other in baseball. They never could figure out how he turned their hair orange either," Issei told him, nodding his head and eyeing Naruto warily.

Yuto and Koneko looked at Naruto curiously, and a sheepish expression crossed his face. He did not exactly talk about his past as a prankster. As it was, the incident that Issei mentioned was tame compared to his other pranks.

"Oh my, you've been holding out on us," Akeno said as she stepped out from behind the curtain with Rias, who had just gotten dressed.

"Sorry for the wait," Rias said, looking at them. Her eyes stopped at Issei. "Since I stayed over at your place last night, I didn't get a chance to bathe."

Her words definitely surprised Naruto. Hearing that she stayed at Issei's place was the last thing that he had expected. Any girl staying at the home of a pervert of his caliber was rather surprising though. He knew better than to ask questions about the matter though.

"So you're Issei-kun?" Akeno asked as she approached him with a pleasant smile on her face. Naruto took some satisfaction in the fact that her smile was not as big as the one she showed him on a regular basis. Even if she was only a crush at the present, he still could not help but feel pleased by that.

"Nice to meet you. I am Akeno Himejima," she introduced herself at his shocked nod.

"Now then, everyone is here," Rias suddenly said, drawing their attention. "Issei, welcome to the Occult Research Club. I'd like to get right to the point. Everyone in this room is a devil."

Her matter-of-fact manner when making such a statement surprised even Naruto, so it was no wonder that Issei did not seem inclined to believe her.

"Your face shows disbelief," Rias remarked, looking directly as Issei. "I suppose it can't be helped though. Do you remember the man you encountered last night with black wings?" Seeing him nod, she continued. "He was a Fallen Angel. They are the Angels originally from heaven that served the God written about in the bible. They were cast from Heaven and sent to the Underworld due to their wicked nature. We Devils want to retain control of the Underworld and have been battling Fallen Angels over it ever since."

She let that sink in for a moment before she continued.

"We Devils make pacts with humans for a price to obtain power, whereas the Fallen Angels take control of humans and use them to destroy us Devils. However, the God from the Bible has tasked the Angels with the goal of destroying both the Fallen Angels and the Devils, making the situation a three-way standoff. It has been like this for a long time now. Do you understand what I've said so far?"

"Er… is this an Occult Research Club's discussion forum?" Issei asked nervously.

"Everything I've said is the truth," Rias told him firmly.

"Stuff about Devils and Angels… to a regular healthy high school student like me, it's a little too deep," Issei said, appearing increasingly more nervous.

"The research club is just a front. In reality, we Devils use this room as our headquarters," Yuto interjected.

"That's not the issue here! Please be quiet," Issei said, uncertainty in his eyes.

"This girl… you must recognize her, right?" Rias suddenly asked, pulling a picture out.

"Yuma-chan? Where did you get this?" Issei asked, clearly visible desperation in his eyes. "No one even seems to remember her, but you have a picture…."

"That girl most certainly does exist," Rias told him. "She's a Fallen Angel, just like the person who ambushed you yesterday. After she killed you, she erased everyone else's memory and records. That is why no one remembers the girl named Yuma Amano."

"Killed me? But I'm alive and well right now!" Issei exclaimed, shaking his head. "Why would she even want to kill me in the first place?"

"That's because you possess a _Sacred Gear_," Rias told him calmly.

That was new to Naruto. He had heard very little about the situation from Akeno. But what he did know was that it had taken all eight Pawns that Rias had to revive Issei as a devil. Having a Sacred Gear would explain why it took so many pieces, at least.

"Sacred Gear? I feel like I've heard that name before," Issei muttered, though everyone heard him clearly.

"Sacred Gear resides in special humans, giving them abilities far above normal. Although most of them can only take effect within human society, some of them may possess the power to harm devils and Fallen Angels," Akeno explained.

"Issei, you have that power within your body," Rias told him bluntly.

"Eh? I know I'm a super healthy virile guy, but that thing is actually a super famous tool nicknamed _Sacred Gear_?" Issei asked in astonishment.

Naruto and Rias both facepalmed at his question. Yuto just shook his head, while Akeno actually giggled.

Koneko on the other hand, leveled a glare at him. "Such vulgarity…."

"No… just listen, okay Issei?" Rias said, doing her best to ignore his question. In a manner that reminded him of how she helped him unlock his Sacred Gear, Rias gave Issei some simply instruction.

Within a matter of minutes, his left hand changed. It was now covered in a red scaled gauntlet that actually looked pretty cool.

"The Fallen Angel thought this posed a threat, so she killed you," Rias told him.

"Huh? But I'm still alive," Issei said, shaking his head. His eyes never left the gauntlet though. He was still mystified by its sudden appearance.

"When you were about to take your last breath, you summoned me," Rias explained patiently. "Akeno, give Issei a simplified pentagram."

"Yes Bucho," Akeno replied, moving to retrieve a contract. She brought it to him and handed it over.

Rias began to explain more about contracts at that point.

The details were fairly simple. The town was actually the territory of Rias and her peerage. After the sun set, people could make a request using one of the contract fliers that were passed out by familiars. For a service provided by devils, contractors had to pay an equal price. Usually, the price came in the form of money or an object, but it was not unheard of for the price to be the contractor's life.

She brought the explanation to a conclusion by revealing that she reincarnated him as a devil instead of simply holding him in her arms while he did as he had wished.

"Now, let's properly introduce ourselves," Rias told him once she was finished explaining.

"Koneko Tojo, First Year and a Devil," Koneko introduced herself with a bored expression as her wings were revealed.

"Yuto Kiba, Second Year and a Devil," Yuto said as his wings came out.

"Naruto Namikaze, Third Year and a Devil," Naruto said as his wings came out as well.

"I'm Akeno Himejima, Vice President of the Occult Research Club, Third Year, and a Devil," Akeno said, gaining her wings as well.

"And I am Rias Gremory, Third Year, Devil and heir to the family title of _Duke_," Rias said, finishing the introductions with her wings out.

If Issei was shocked by the introductions, he was astounded as his devil wings appeared.

"I'm a devil too," he whispered almost too quietly to hear. "Does this mean that from now on, I'll always be a servant?"

"If you do well, it's possible that you will have servants of your own one day," Rias told him with a sincere smile.

"Servants? As in people who will always obey my orders?" Issei asked suddenly.

Rias looked surprised at his sudden enthusiasm, but she nodded all the same.

"Oh yeah, I definitely want to be a devil then!" Issei exclaimed.

"It is nice," Yuto remarked.

Koneko, on the other hand, just shook her head and said, "So simple minded…."

"I could throw away all of my hidden porno mags," Issei said, making Naruto wonder if he realized how loud he was talking. "No, I can't do that. They're my treasure. This and that are two different things. Two different things."

"This kid is quite something," Rias said with a laugh.

"So when you said, _Perhaps we'll have an idiotic little brother soon_, this is what you meant," Akeno remarked with understanding in her eyes. Surprisingly, Issei did not seem to even hear her.

"That's right," Rias said, looking as Issei. "So, are you willing to become my servant?"

"Yes Rias-senpai," Issei answered happily.

"No, you have to call me _Rias-bucho_ since I'm the president of this club," she told him, shaking her head.

"Can't I call you Onee-sama?" Issei asked.

The question, surprisingly, made Rias blush. "That doesn't sound too bad, I suppose. But since this school is our headquarters, it's fitting to call me _bucho_ instead. Because of the Occult Research Club, everyone calls me that anyways."

"Understood, Bucho," Issei agreed. "Can you tell me more about devils?"

She looked pleased by his question. "Good answer. I suppose I could let you become a man."

It appeared that Issei did realize that she was teasing him. From the looks of it, she did not see him in a romantic light. Not yet, anyways. Even so, a pervert of his caliber misread the situation.

"I can't wait! I want to become a Harem King!" he proclaimed. "So what should I do?"

Surprisingly, no one contradicted his words. Akeno looked amused and Koneko looked like she wanted to sight, but Naruto and Yuto felt that they could respect the guy's goal. They were not about to try to change someone's opinion about their goal. Not when it was so harmless, at least.

"By completing contracts, you will be able to rise in rank. If your achievements are acknowledged, you may become a High-Class Devil, enabling you to receive servants," Rias explained, seeming unfazed by his proclamation.

"So if I become a High Class Devil, having a harem will no longer be a mere dream?" he asked with wide eyes.

"That's right," Rias told him with a wink. "So from now on, you need to get to work. But first, can I trouble you to pass these out?"

She gestured to a box of contracts as she spoke.

"This is the first step in signing contracts with humans. Do your best."

Issei had accepted even before he realized what he was doing. Attractive girls could manage that when they asked someone like Issei to do something for them though.

Naruto just shook his head as Issei left with the contracts.

Once he was gone, the other devils turned to Naruto expectantly.

"So what's the story?" Yuto asked curiously. "I've never seen anyone react to you the way he did."

Apparently, that was the question everyone was wondering if the looks they shot him had anything to say about it.

"I had a reputation as a prankster," Naruto confessed. "It started when I was about six, actually. I probably pulled at least one prank a week until my last year at my old school. I knew I'd never get emancipated if I kept it up, so I stopped. People here still talk about my pranks though. I'm just glad Issei only knows about a minor prank like that one he mentioned. That's not even as bad at the Itching Powder prank I pulled a few years back."

He actually smiled as he remembered that one. He had managed to get over two dozen people with that one prank. He was also suspended from school for two weeks, but it was worth it.

"Are you a Kitsune?" Koneko asked. "You sound like one after hearing about how much of a trickster you were."

It was one of the longest things that he had heard her say, and it brought a smile to his face too.

"Sorry, but I'm just your average human-turned-devil," Naruto told her, shaking his head. "I guess my birthmarks can make people wonder though." Given how he acted when he was younger, combined with the whisker-like marks on his cheeks, it was not a huge jump for Koneko.

After hearing about his most mythologies had some basis in fact, he figured that there were really Kitsune and other yokai in the world.

"Oh my, you have to tell me about some of these pranks later," Akeno said in amusement.

"I'd be interested in hearing them too," Rias agreed, nodding her head. A calculating look could be seen in her eyes though.

Yuto and Koneko looked like they were just as interested as the others.

"I'll tell you guys about them later," Naruto said, a little unsure of whether he should tell them anything or not.

"Let's put training off for a few hours," Akeno said, surprising him. "Ever since you became a devil, you've spent most of your time training instead of spending time with your new friends. Spend some time with Koneko-chan and Yuto-kun. Isn't that why you become a devil in the first place?"

The utter seriousness that she spoke with surprised him, but Naruto nodded his head in understanding all the same. He just had no idea what to say or do with his new friends, so he instead put more of his effort in training. He knew that Akeno had a point though.

"Koneko-chan, Yuto-san, how about we go to the arcade and hang out?" Naruto asked, trying to come up with an idea.

They both seemed agreeable to the suggestion.

Rias did not have any reason to argue, and Akeno looked pleased that he had decided to do as she said, even if she was not being invited along.

Once Naruto left with Koneko and Yuto, Rias looked at Akeno.

"I'm surprised he didn't invite you along," she said.

"I wouldn't have gone. He needs some time just with his friends," Akeno replied lightly. But she grew more serious as she moved to a different subject. "Rias, we need to talk about how you've been treating him since he joined our group."

It surprised Rias to see her friend grow so serious, but her words only confused her.

"How I've been treating him?" she asked.

"I thought he might eventually say something, but you have not treated him the way you treat the others. When you are even treating our newest member differently than him, it will cause problems. Most of the time, you treat him as a curiosity- a mystery to be uncovered. Ever since you learned of his Sacred Gear, you've stopped seeing him as you see your other servants."

Rias looked like she had been struck. As Akeno had suspected, Rias had never realized how she was treating him.

"I can't believe I acted like that," she said with a grimace. "My family is one that takes pride in the way we treat our servants, and yet I stopped seeing him as a person completely. I do not even know how I can make this up to him."

"Don't confront him about it," Akeno advised. "You mean well, but I do not believe he would accept an apology. If you want to make it up to him, change how you treat him. Try to think of him as a brother if you have to. A cute little brother."

Rias looked at Akeno in surprise. "Don't tell me that the Ultimate Sadist is developing feelings for our newest Rook," she said in a teasing tone.

"He's cute. Beyond that… we'll see," Akeno told her, not even bothering to deny it. While she may have had a small crush on him, she still did not know him well enough to really come to like him in that way yet.

Rias did not expect that, but Akeno's words made her smile. They had been good friends for a while now, so it was only natural for her to be happy for Akeno in such a situation.

"So tell me, how is he coping with your training?" Rias asked, moving the subject to an easier topic. Akeno did not mind though, not wishing to talk about that any longer.

* * *

Naruto's time spent with Koneko and Yuto was nice. Despite Koneko's normally serious and emotionless demeanor, he had seen a different side of her at the arcade. She appeared to actually have fun. Yuto, on the other hand, was his usual charming and polite self. He was actually pretty good at games too.

The three devils stayed at the arcade until Akeno showed up to bring Naruto to training. Even though he did not talk much with Koneko and Yuto while they played games at the arcade, it did them some good just to have fun together. After that, he felt more relaxed for training.

"So what are we doing first?" Naruto asked once he and Akeno arrived at their destination.

"I got a little ahead of myself by teaching you magic so soon," she told him, clearly in her kind and gentle persona. "We'll go back to it before too long. But for now, I'd like to help you increase your speed and reflexes. As a Rook, they are your greatest weaknesses, but you can train them so that they are at least on par with a Pawn's. With enough training, only Knights will be faster than you. Once that is taken care of, we can move back on to magic."

That sounded good to Naruto. Koneko's speed was actually comparable to that of a Pawn from what Naruto had been told. He had compared her speed with that of Rias, Akeno, and Yuto when he first saw her fight, so he had wrongly compared her previously. Akeno and Yuto both embodied the speed of a Knight, whereas Rias was a High-Class Devil and could move quite fast as well.

"Do Queens have weaknesses?" Naruto asked suddenly.

Akeno looked surprised by the question. "Oh my, are you concerned about me?" she asked teasingly. She laughed for a moment before she grew serious. "But yes, Queens generally have weaknesses. We may possess the attributes of Knights, Bishops, and Rooks, but that doesn't mean we are equal in every area. Because of how I've trained, I'm better as a Bishop than a Knight, but I'm better as a Knight than a Rook. That means that I am best with magic and am worst with defense and physical strength."

Naruto was surprised to hear that. So even a Queen had to train to develop her wide range of abilities.

"Now, I want you to get ready to dodge," Akeno said as she extended a hand towards him. A sadistic look was visible in her eyes. "This will help you with your speed and reflexes."

As soon as those words came out, lightning shot forth from her hand at Naruto.

Surprisingly, he managed to dodge it, but only by summoning his Sacred Gear and enhancing his perception with it. Even with its assistance, he would not leave unharmed, however.

* * *

Author's Note: And here's Chapter 4. Not much happened in it, but that happens sometimes. I was actually hoping to add more interaction between Naruto, Koneko, and Yuto this chapter, but I'm not very good with friendship scenes when there isn't some form of conflict to drive the scene. There will be plenty of time to expand on that before too long though. More interaction between Naruto and Akeno will happen before that though.

I've been accused of being indecisive on who the protagonist is. Supposedly, I want Issei to be the protagonist. That's not the truth, however. In many ways, Issei is a catalyst that drives the series. He will still have a major role throughout this story and he is still going to be a hero, but he isn't _the_ hero of this story. I didn't just rush into this without a plan, so rest assured that I am not just making crap up as I go.

And before I forget, I'd like to address an edit I made in this story. I changed what I had about contracts between devils and humans. The manga and the light novels explain them differently. The manga makes it seem that devils just get power by feeding off of the desires of humans, while the light novels say that devils accept payment of some form for granting wishes. For example, one of Issei's clients in the light novels asked for money, only to find out that the cost would be his life and that he would never even touch the money before he died. Naturally, he didn't accept the deal after he learned that. But I changed it so that I'm following the light novel when it comes to contracts. I followed the light novel when it came to someone becoming a devil without being on the verge of death too, seeing as how Naruto becoming a devil was done in the same manner as Rossweisse (though the circumstances of their agreement to become devils was different).

On a side note, I just finished reading the fourteenth light novel of High School DxD. I'll be glad when the fifteenth one shows up on Baka-Tsuki.


	5. Stray

**5. Stray**

A week had passed since Issei became a devil and joined Rias Gremory's peerage, and Naruto did not think he could be any more amused than he was.

It took a few days to pass out the boxes of contract leaflets that Rias gave him to hand out, but the fun did not begin until after that. As it turned out, Issei did not even have enough magic in him to use a Transportation Circle, meaning that even the youngest of natural devils were superior to him in that area. So instead of being able to use it to instantly teleport to contractors, he had to ride his bicycle to the contractor's home.

In addition to that, Issei had managed to fail to complete the first two contracts that he accepted.

The first was originally a request for Koneko, but she had been busy with another contract, so Issei was sent instead. It turned out that the contract was an otaku that just happened to be a lolicon. He wanted Koneko to cosplay as one of his favorite manga characters while he took pictures. Seeing Issei must have been a massive surprise. In the end, Issei play-battled with the contractor as Dragon Ball characters until morning. No contract had been completed as a result, but the contractor did leave positive feedback about Issei to Rias, causing her to appear confused.

The second was a request that appeared to have horrified Issei to the very depths of his soul. It involved a very muscular man that cosplayed as a girl and wanted to become a magic girl. Naruto tried not to ask about it too much after hearing that, but once again, Issei received positive feedback even though he failed to complete the contract.

Hearing that Issei had failed to complete his first two contracts was somewhat satisfying, especially since Naruto completed so many without failing once. By nature, Naruto was competitive, so even if he did not dislike Issei, he still wanted to be better than him. It helped that Issei failed in an amusing manner too.

His amusement at Issei's progress as a devil was only tempered by his recent suspicions. He was grateful for Rias turning him into a devil and giving him a chance to have true friends. He had been resentful for the way she looked at him and treated him, even if she did not necessarily treat him bad, but he had mostly ignored those feelings because of how much he owed her. But things had changed recently. Lately, Rias had been interacting with him more often and was generally being nicer to him. She still looked at him with curiosity when she thought he was not paying attention, but it was not as bad as before.

The sudden change had surprised him, and he had no idea what could have caused it. Koneko and Yuto had confronted him prior to the change and asked why he did not talk to her about the way she treated him, but they had agreed to let him handle it without their interference, so he did not think that they confronted Rias.

He really wished he knew what caused the change in her treatment of him. He hoped that she did not have plans to trade him to another devil and had simply decided to change how she treated him until she made the trade. Yuto had told him not to worry so much though, since Rias was not the type to trade servants like many other devils did.

When he was not finding himself amused by Issei's antics and thinking about the situation with Rias, he was hanging out with Koneko and Yuto, fulfilling contracts, and training with Akeno.

He had been making good progress in his training with Akeno lately. They were still focusing on his speed and reflexes, but Akeno had started to use magic to weigh his entire body down. Since he was a Rook, he could withstand a far greater amount of weight than a Pawn, Knight, or Bishop could. Hopefully, it would take care of his weakness fairly quick and enable him to start working on other areas. He did not expect to even come close to Yuto's speed, but becoming at least as fast as Koneko was his goal.

His focus at the present was not on training though. Though it was easier to train at night, he generally trained during the day and instead completed contracts at night since it was the only time of day that devils could complete contracts. So just before sunset, Naruto found himself heading to the old schoolhouse where the Occult Research Club's room was.

Just before he reached the room, he heard Rias berating something. Looking through the doorway, he saw that Issei was the one that she was talking to.

"Don't ever get close to the Church again," Rias was saying.

The look on her face was the angriest that Naruto had ever seen her look, but he was certain he saw some concern in her eyes too.

"To us Devils, the Church is an enemy's territory. Just stepping into it can cause a rift between the Devils and God. Since it was an act of kindness by taking the nun to the Church, they didn't harm you, but the Angels are always on the lookout. You were in a situation where it wouldn't be strange for them to hit you with a spear of light," she said, her eyes boring into Issei's.

Naruto had heard her say the same thing to him, but without any of the anger. He had never had a reason to go near a church in the first place, after all.

"Don't get involved with people from the Church. Especially the Exorcists. They are our biggest enemy. They could easily eliminate us because their powers are supported by the prayer of God. More so if it is an Exorcist with a Sacred Gear. That would be the same as standing on the boundary of death, Ise."

"Y-Yes," Issei stuttered, clearly not having realized how much danger he had been in.

"You could avoid death as a human by being resurrected as a Devil. But Devils who are exorcised become completely terminated. They return to nothing. Nothing. There is nothing left and you feel nothing. Do you know how serious that is?"

He did not know, and neither did Naruto. The concept of being reduced to nothing was actually a difficult thing to grasp.

Rias shook her head, seeing the confused look on Issei's face. "I'm sorry. I got too heated. Anyway, be careful from now on."

"Yes," Issei agreed, nodding his head eagerly.

"Oh my, are you done lecturing him now?" Akeno asked as she approached Rias and Issei. For a moment, she glanced at Naruto, making eye contact.

"What is it, Akeno?" Rias asked curiously, looking at her Queen.

"The Archduke has passed down an order of suppression," Akeno told her, growing serious.

"I see," Rias said, nodding her head in understanding. "Contact Koneko and Yuto. Once night falls, we will take care of it."

Issei looked confused by the situation, so Rias began to explain to him about Stray Devils.

As she explained it to him, Akeno went about contacting the missing members of the peerage.

Naruto moved over to the window and looked outside while they were doing that. He knew Rias would address the entire group once they all arrived. Normally, they did not arrive until after sunset.

Closing his eyes, he saw brief flashes in his mind. Lately, the unusual dreams that started when he became a devil had started to become more frequent. Some of the dreams that he had already experienced were repeated, except he saw more the second time around. In his dreams, he was called Naruto Uzumaki. For some reason, he felt as if the name was perfectly natural too, though he preferred to be called Namikaze. That was the name that it said on the blanket he was found in at the orphanage's doorstep, after all.

"Naruto, can you come over here?" Rias suddenly asked, catching his attention.

Turning around, he saw that everyone was waiting for him.

Moving over to them, Rias began to speak.

"A stray devil by the name of Visor has taken up residence on the other side of town. Because it is in my territory, the Archduke wants us to take care of it. It should be a good experience for the newest members of our group too. Neither of them have seen us fight together before," Rias said, glancing at Naruto and Issei. "Koneko, Yuto, Akeno, and I will do all the fighting. I am perfectly aware that you know how to fight, Naruto, but I'd like for you and Issei to simply watch."

Naruto was surprised by her decision, but he did not argue. If she wanted him to just sit back and watch, then he would do that. He would have liked to actually use his training, but she was the boss.

Not much else was said before the group made their way to an abandoned building on the other side of down.

* * *

As they neared the building that the stray devil was said to be hiding in, Koneko covered her nose with her left hand and muttered, "The stench of blood…."

Naruto did not smell anything, but he had noticed that Koneko's senses were sharper than his. Apparently, they were sharper than any of the others', actually. None of them seemed to smell what she did, after all.

"Issei, make sure to watch us closely," Rias said, looking back at her Pawn. "You'll get to see devils fight for the first time. I will also explain the traits the servants have as well."

"Explain the traits servants have?" Issei asked in confusion. Hearing the genuine confusion made Naruto realize that she had gone about teaching him differently. Whereas he was taught the important details right away, it seemed that Issei was learning as they went. Naruto was not sure why that was, but he decided not to worry about it at the same time.

"Devils give traits to those who will become their servants," Rias began to explain. "Yes, it's probably about time I explain about it and also about the history of Devils."

She stopped for a moment before she began to speak.

"Long time ago, there was a three sided war between the Devils, the Fallen Angels, and God with its Angels followers. All three sides had a large army and they fought for almost eternity. As a result, all three sides lost most of their troops and the war finished several hundred years ago with no side winning."

She was followed up by Yuto.

"The Devils were no exception. Big Devils with peerage who commanded about twenty or thirty troops lost most of their underlings because of the war. They lost so many that they couldn't even form new armies."

From there, Akeno continued.

"I heard that most of the pure Devils passed away in that war. Even after the war, there are still problems between the Devils, the Fallen Angels and God. Even though the Fallen Angels' and God's side also lost most of their troops, we are still in a position where we can't let our guard down, or else we will be in trouble."

Finally, Rias spoke again.

"Then, the Devils decided to use a system to form a small group of soldiers. And that is the Evil Piece."

"Evil Piece?" Issei asked curiously.

"Devils with a peerage decided to use the traits of the human game _Chess_ and incorporate them with their servants. It was also sarcasm, because most of the servants are Devils that were reincarnated from humans. Since then, Chess became a popular game in the world of the Devils. We'll leave that aside. Devils who are masters are a _King_. In our case, that is me. From there, they created five special traits that consist of _Queen_, _Knight_, _Rook_, _Bishop_, and _Pawn_. Since they couldn't make an army, they decided to have a small number of Devils and give them enormous powers. This system was made in the past few hundred years, and this unexpectedly became popular amongst Devils with peerage."

She stopped and took a breath before she continued the explanation.

"They started to compete against each other over who had the strongest servants. As a result, High-class Devils started to play a game like that of Chess against each other using their servants. We call it the _Rating _Game. Anyway, this game became very popular amongst the Devils. Now, there are even tournaments for it. The strength of their pieces and also how strong they are at the game affects the Devils' social position and their peerage. There is a thing called _piece collect_ where they gather humans with talents and make them into their pieces. It's very popular recently. Talented servants become their status."

Already, she had said more about Rating Games than Naruto previously knew, but she was still not discussing the full details of it. She did not like explaining unnecessary things though.

"I'm not a matured Devil yet, so I can't participate in the official tournament. Even if I could, there are things that I need to go through, or else I can't play. In short, Ise and my other servants here won't be participating in a game for a while," Rias added, looking at Naruto momentarily. It seemed that she had not forgotten his questions on the subject in the past.

"So does that mean that Kiba and the others haven't played in that game yet?"

"Never," Yuto told him, shaking his head.

"Bucho, what is my role and traits? And what piece am I?" Issei asked curiously.

"Ise, you are-" Rias began, but she stopped when they opened the doors of the building and felt a chill run down their spines.

"I can smell something disgusting. But I can also smell something delicious. Is it sweet? Or is it sour?"

The low voice appeared to be coming from below the ground. It might have frightened some people, but it merely put Naruto on edge.

"Stray Devil Visor, we are here to eliminate you," Rias proclaimed in an even tone.

Those words only made the stray devil let out a long laugh.

A topless woman suddenly appeared from the shadow, but her upper body was floating.

A moment later, they saw the rest of its body. It was a grotesque being with a woman's upper bodiy and the lower body of a monster. The lower body of the monster had four fat legs with sharp claws and a snake-like tail.

From the size of it, the stray devil had to be at least fifteen feet tall. If it stood on its hind legs, it would have been much taller though.

To think that the monster had once been a human-turned devil like him was hard to even imagine.

"Leaving your master's side and rampaging as you please… you definitely deserve death. In the name of Duke Gremory, I will gladly eliminate you!" Rias proclaimed.

"You are cunning for a little girl! I will rip your body apart, and color it in red just like your hair!" the stray devil yelled.

"Grunts sure do act tough," Rias said with some amusement. "Yuto!"

"Yes!" Yuto said before he moved into action. He was so fast that it seemed as though he was teleporting.

With his insane speed, he began to attack.

"Ise, I will continue from the lecture before," Rias said, unconcerned about the stray devil. "Yuuto's position is _Knight_. Its trait is speed. Those who become a Knight have their speed increased."

Seeing someone with as much speed as Yuto in action only served to reinforce her words.

"And Yuuto's ultimate weapon is swords," Rias added.

Yuto stopped and suddenly drew a western style sword. He suddenly disappeared again. In the next moment, the scream of the monster echoed.

In the blink of an eye, Yuto had sliced its arms off.

"This is Yuto's power. Speed that you can't follow with your eyes and the sword skills of a professional. By combining these two, he becomes the fastest Knight."

As she finished speaking, Koneko moved forward to attack the stray devil.

"Next is Koneko. She is a Rook. The trait of a Rook is its-" Rias began.

"Damn insect!" the stray devil screeched before it tried to stop on top of Koneko.

Naruto knew that she was in no danger though.

The monster's foot never hit the ground. It wasn't able to stomp completely.

Koneko was holding the monster's leg up with little difficulty.

"The trait of a Rook is simple. Absolute strength. And very high defence. It's impossible for a Devil of that caliber to hurt Koneko."

With a little effort, Koneko completed lifted the monster into the air, tossed it, and drove her fist into its stomach, sending it flying.

"Lastly, we have Akeno."

"Yes, Bucho. Oh my, what should I do?"

She was laughing while walking towards the monster.

"Akeno is a Queen. She's the one who is the strongest after me. She is the unbeatable Vice-President of our club who has all the traits of Knight, Bishop, and Rook.

The monster stared at Akeno with rage, but she simply laughed upon meeting its gaze."Oh my, it seems like you still have some energy left in you. Then how about this?"

Akeno put her hands towards the sky.

In an instant, the sky sparkled and a lightning bolt stuck down the monster.

The monster let out a scream as it was electrified violently. Its entire body was burnt and it had smoke coming out from it.

"Oh my, looks like you still have some energy in you. Looks like you can take more."

Another lightning bolt hit the monster.

It was electrified again. It already sounded like its dying.

Even so, Akeno struck it with a third attack with a sadistic look in her eyes. She had even started to laugh, amused by its pain.

"Akeno excels at attacks using demonic-powers. She can use natural elements like lightning, ice, and fire. And most of all, she is the ultimate sadist. Usually, she's very kind, but once the battle starts, she won't stop until she calms down."

Issei actually looked scared upon hearing that.

"You don't have to be afraid, Ise. Akeno is very kind to comrades, so it's not a problem. She doesn't mind you at all."

Her words would have been more calming if it was not for Akeno's laughter."How much of my lightning can you take? You still can't die yet, okay? The one who finishes you off will be my master."

For a few minutes, Akeno's lightning attacks continued.

Once she calmed down, Rias confirmed it and nodded her head.

She approached the monster that had already lost its will to fight and raised a hand towards it. "Any last words?"

"Kill me."

That's the only thing the monster said.

"Then disappear," Rias said coldly.

A gigantic black mass of demonic-power shot out from her palm.

It was so big that it could cover all of the monster's body.

The mass of demonic-power devoured the monster's body. When the demonic-power disappeared, so did the monster's body.

"It's over. Good work everyone," Rias said, looking at the other club members.

"Bucho, there is still a thing that you didn't tell me," Issei suddenly said, drawing the attention to a different matter.

"What is it?" she asked with a smile.

"My piece… what is my role as a servant."

"You are a Pawn, Ise. You are a Pawn," Rias told him, earning a downtrodden look from her answer.

Issei looked at Naruto after a moment, but Rias answered the question before he could ask it.

"Naruto is my second Rook. He has only been a devil for a couple months longer than you have."

Hearing that his piece was inferior to Naruto's definitely did not cheer Issei up, though it did managed to do so to Naruto.

* * *

Following the conflict with the stray devil, Naruto made his way to his apartment instead of returning to Kuoh Academy. Because the only operated locally, they did not get so many contracts that everyone was kept busy, so only Rias and Akeno had returned to school.

Naruto was not sure what to do with the rest of the night. It was still about an hour until midnight, and he had found himself unable to go to sleep before four o'clock since becoming a devil. Devils were truly creatures of the night.

"Hello Naruto-senpai."

Turning, he saw Koneko about a dozen feet behind him. Without his Sacred Gear active, he could not hear her soft footsteps, even with the naturally enhanced hearing that all devils possessed.

"What are you doing, Koneko-chan?" he asked, stopping until she reached him.

She never seemed to mind his usage of the suffix, though he was not sure if that was because of her apathy or if she actually liked it.

"I did not want to go home yet, Naruto-senpai," she told him as she walked alongside him.

Naruto nodded his head. She was being evasive, but he felt that he knew and understood why she did not want to go home yet.

"You want to hear a few stories?" Naruto asked curiously, earning a hesitant nod from Koneko. It appeared as though she was intentionally making it appear hesitant though. "Let's go to my apartment, and I'll tell you a few stories."

"You're not going to be lecherous, are you?" she asked sharply, no doubt on her guard because of her recent interactions with Issei.

"You don't have to worry about that with me. Besides, you're more like a little sister to me," he told her, reaching out and ruffling her hair. His action appeared to aggravate her a little, but it was his words that made her freeze. The moment that he said _sister_, she stopped mid-step with wide eyes.

Almost instantly, she recovered and ignored any questions about her reaction, though Naruto did not press the matter.

They walked to the apartment in silence, where Naruto began to tell her some stories about his past as a prankster. He told her about some of the best pranks that he had pulled, and hearing the normally emotionless girl laugh was a great feeling. Hearing her do it a number of times only made it better.

Once he was done telling her the stories for the moment, Koneko decided to ask a question.

"Naruto-senpai, why did you make the contract with Rias-bucho?" The suddenness of the question caught him of guard, but she was not finished there. "She told us what your wish was, but I don't understand why you made it. After coming to this school your reputation shouldn't stop people from becoming friends with you."

Naruto actually laughed at the question and appeared somewhat embarrassed.

"You're right, there's more to it than that," Naruto admitted. "Did you know that four times more girls in my grade than guys? I'm not that good with girls normally, so I never really tried to make friends with them. Most of the guys either knew about my reputation or were too busy trying to get a girlfriend. It probably didn't help that most people around our age meet their closest friends before they reach high school."

Koneko looked somewhat surprised to hear his words. It was well known that Kuoh Academy had been an all girls school until a year or two before the current third-year students started attending, which resulted in the male population staying fairly small. However, she never really considered that it could have an impact on Naruto getting friends.

"But I'm kind of glad things worked out the way they did," Naruto said, surprising her even more. "Since I became I devil, I've just felt like a normal life wouldn't have suited me. Maybe that's why these dreams started."

"Dreams?" Koneko asked, cocking her head to the side.

Naruto let out a sigh, realizing that he had mentioned something he did not want to tell anyone about. He saw no reason to hide it now that he made a slip though.

"After I became a devil, I started having these strange dreams. In them, I'm called Naruto Uzumaki, but so much is different in them. In them, I call myself a shinobi and have these strange abilities. They're like magic, really. I've been piecing the dreams together lately, and it seems almost as if I have this long, continuous story unfolding in my head."

Koneko looked mystified by his words.

"I have never heard of anything like that before," Koneko confessed. "You may want to tell Rias-bucho or Akeno-senpai about it. It may just be dreams, or it may be something more."

"I'll think about it," he told her. Both of them knew that it was unlikely that he would actually tell anyone though.

The pair moved on to lighter subjects as Naruto returned to telling her about some of his pranks. They ended up talking until they were tired. Koneko actually ended up sleeping in his bed while Naruto slept on the floor, but he did not mind.

All in all, it was a nice night.

* * *

Author's Note: Here's the next chapter. I didn't move too far from the start of the canon series, but more difference will show up as the story progresses.

I don't really have much to say this time around, so I'd like to ask for some input from you guys. What do you think of Raynare, the fallen angel that killed Issei? It's just a simple question, but I'd like to gauge how everyone feels about her before I make a decision. But before anyone gives me input, I would like to be very clear here. Raynare will not be paired with Naruto or Issei in this story, no matter what. I won't even consider suggestions of that nature.

Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing.


	6. Promotion

**6. Promotion**

If there was one thing that Naruto hated about being a devil, it had to be the contracts. He had not yet failed a single one, but his contracts were some of the worst of their group. He often found himself finding lost pets, digging and maintaining gardens, and other mundane tasks.

Compared to Koneko's cosplay photo shoot requests, Yuto's therapeutic socialization and cooking requests, Akeno's stress relief requests, and the occasional requests for Rias to remove curses from objects or defeat monsters, his were definitely boring.

Naruto was thankful that certain requests never reached the peerage though. For instance, they never even received the requests from contractors wishing to have sexual relations with a devil. There were special groups of devils that dealt with that kind of contract. As a result, they did not have to deal with contracts that they found distasteful.

He did not need to find a contract distasteful to hate completing it though.

Despite his dislike for completing contracts, Naruto still made sure to complete at least ten a week. The only thing the peerage regularly did for Rias was completing contracts, so it was only natural that their paychecks were dependent on the completion of a certain number of contracts. Ten a week was enough to ensure that he continued to live comfortably.

It had only been a couple days since the encounter with the stray devil, and Naruto had already finished his quota for the week already.

He actually wished he had not been busy with contracts the previous night though. Apparently, Issei had gone to complete a contract, only to find that the contractor was dead and a stray exorcist was waiting for a devil to show up. He was the only one in the peerage that had not gone to save Issei when he was in danger.

It seemed that he missed another chance to actually put his skills into use.

That was what he told himself at least. The truth was that he felt guilty for not being around. Issei had been injured by the exorcist. Thanks to Rias, he was not severely injured, but it was enough to warrant her to get pull some strings so that he could skip school until he was fully healed. Under the guise of club activities, Rias could easily get any member of her peerage out of school, and that was without even using her devil powers to persuade anyone.

Of course, she was not willing to get them out of school for the day without a good reason, so Naruto had ended up calling in sick so he could have the day off to train.

Naruto did not particularly like Issei, but seeing a comrade injured and knowing that he had played no part in the rescue hit him hard. It drove him even more than the encounter with the fallen angel had.

Sitting in the middle of a clearing outside of town, Naruto was meditating. His Sacred Gear was visible around his neck. It did not seem as strong as some of the Sacred Gears in the book Rias had shown him. It seemed to be about as useful as Twice Critical, one of the most common Sacred Gears. The only thing that made his special was that it was one of the rarest Sacred Gears. They had still not been able to find out anything about it other than what he had observed in his training.

Unfortunately, he had not discovered as much about his Sacred Gear as he would have liked. It was a supplementary type Sacred Gear that could enhance specific attributes. With training, his Sacred Gear could evolve, gaining additional magatama, which enabled him to enhance additional attributes. He was close to evolving his Sacred Gear once again, though he was not sure how much further it could evolve. And he was only able to enhance a single attribute at a time.

That summed up about all he had figured out so far.

Naruto's current training was different from his previous Sacred Gear training. Rather than attempt to evolve the Sacred Gear again, he was training to expand on its current abilities.

His goal was simple. He wanted to enhance two attributes at once with his Sacred Gear. While he could quickly switch between perception, strength, and defense, he still left openings when switching. If he could enhance two at the same time, he could make it more difficult to exploit that weakness.

Truthfully, Naruto had no intended on attempting to train his Sacred Gear in such a manner so soon, but it was more difficult to train by himself.

Naruto felt his physical strength increase thanks to his Sacred Gear. It only made him about twice as strong as he normally was, but that was a pretty big increase since he was a Rook. Taking a deep breath, he attempted to partially shift the focus of his Sacred Gear to defense. Unfortunately, he quickly felt his enhanced strength shift into enhanced defense. It was the tenth time that it had happened so far, and it was confusing for him. He did not understand why he was unable to enhance both at the same time.

"So this is where you are."

Turning, Naruto saw Rias walking into the clearing, her eyes focused on him.

"I was concerned when you did not show up today. If you aren't going to come to school, I'd appreciate it if you warned me. With the recent sightings of fallen angels and exorcists around town, it's best to be careful."

Naruto rose to his feet and lowered his head slightly. "Sorry about that. I wasn't really thinking about that. After hearing about Issei, I just… I needed to come out here and train."

"Thankfully, Koneko informed me that you wouldn't be coming to school today, so I was not too worried," Rias told him with a look of understanding.

Since staying the night at his place, Koneko had become much closer to him. It was not uncommon for her to spend quite a bit of time in his apartment. It was strange waking up to find that she was curled up next to him, looking content as she slept. He did not particularly mind though. Seeing her express any emotions was something that made him happy.

The only downside with her constant presence around his apartment was that she generally always knew where he was. At the presence, it appeared to be a good thing though.

"You don't have to feel bad about not going with us," she told him. "The others went only because they were there and we wanted a show of force to dissuade the exorcist from operating in our town. Honestly, it might be best that you didn't come with us. If they ignore the show of force, it just means that there's one person they don't know about."

Naruto never really thought about that, though her last statement reminded him of something. "But wouldn't that be two people? Don't you have a Bishop too?"

"My Bishop cannot help us with anything," Rias told him with a frown. "By the orders of the Four Satans, my Bishop was sealed away. It was decided that he presented a threat if he remained as he was. He's a good person, but his abilities are too unpredictable. You probably won't meet him anytime soon, but you'll eventually have the chance."

That was a shock to Naruto. He had never expected something like that. Idly, he noted that she was being more direct than she normally was about that subject.

"Don't worry about what will happen if we are attacked though. Coming up with plans is my job. All you need to worry about is your training," she told him. "What exactly are you attempting to do out here anyways?"

Her question was not unexpected, and Naruto answered her as simply as he could.

Once she heard what he was trying to do, she started to shake her head. "I'm afraid that you're making a mistake. What you're trying to do is most likely possible, but I imagine that you need a higher level of mastery over your Sacred Gear before it can be done."

It was disheartening to hear that after spending hours trying to accomplish that task.

"Move to a different type of training and come back to this later. Perhaps you'll have better luck at that time," Rias said before turning her back to him. "Now, I must return to the school. It's lunchtime and the others will be wondering where I went."

"Hang on," Naruto said, making her turn back to him curiously. "Before you go, can you use a spell to make my body heavier?" If he could not work on eliminating one weakness, he would just have to move on to his other weakness.

"Speed training?" Rias asked curiously. When he nodded, she smiled and did as he requested. "The spell is set to break if you make your wings come out, so if anything happens, just remember that you can easily get free yourself of that weight."

"Thanks," Naruto said, deactivating his Sacred Gear. Her spell made his body weigh about as much as he could handle. If it was nighttime, he could easily move unhindered, but the sun shining down on him left his body weaker. He felt even heavier due to the fatigue he experienced with the deactivation of his Sacred Gear.

"Good luck, Naruto," she told him with a genuine smile before she left.

Once she was gone, he began to run in laps around the perimeter of the clearing so he could get used to the weight before he did more intensive exercises.

* * *

"Oh my, you've been busy," Akeno remarked as she entered the clearing hours later. Looking at him, she could tell that he had not stopped training since Rias stopped by.

Naruto came to a stop when he heard her voice. He was three-fourths of the way to the top of a tree, having used his hands and legs to climb it. It was not exactly a speed exercise, but it did work out his arms and legs. With the spell that made him weigh more still active, it was actually a fairly useful exercise.

Jumping down, Naruto landed without a problem and made his way over to Akeno.

"Yeah, I was actually getting kind of bored though," he admitted. "There's only so much I can do by myself."

"It is good that I showed up then," she said with a laugh. "From what I hear, it's never a good thing for you to get bored. The last thing we need is the prank king to go on a rampage, especially now that he can cast spells."

Naruto's eyes lit up as he suddenly thought of the possibilities.

Akeno paused, surprised that he did not realize that on his own. She idly wondered if it was a bad thing to give him ideas like that, though she was not too concerned. She would enjoy seeing the havoc he could cause, after all.

"But first, I brought you something to eat. Rias didn't think you'd take a break before I showed up," Akeno said, holding up a bento. He did not fail to notice the way she addressed Rias in that instance. Though they were best friends, Akeno always referred to Rias as Bucho or Rias-bucho, so it was strange to hear her refer to her friend by her given name only.

Naruto pushed that to the back of his mind and happily took the bento, not having eaten since the previous day.

"Thanks Akeno-chan," he said as he opened the bento and began to eat.

"You're welcome Naruto-kun," she replied with a smile. Her eyes suddenly grew curious. "How would you like to move on to a different type of training?"

That was not something Naruto expected to hear. "What about my speed?"

"You don't need to continue training that. The spell that we've been putting on you to increase your weight will take care of that. It'll just take a little longer. If you keep the spell active at all times, your speed will steadily increase. Once you can move just as fast with the spell active as you could before it was used, you'll be as fast as Koneko-chan."

That was good news for Naruto. He was not expecting to get as fast as Yuto, or even Akeno, but being as fast as Koneko was an acceptable goal in his opinion.

"What kind of training are we going to do instead?"

"Magic," she replied cheerfully. It was her specialty, and they had stopped his training with spells previously so that he could start working on his speed. It made sense to return back to that subject.

Naruto remembered her earlier words about being able to use spells in pranks now. It seemed ironic now that he knew what they were going to start training.

"What are we waiting for?" Naruto asked after finishing off the bento. "I'm ready when you are."

"In that case, we'll begin with defensive spells," Akeno told him, making him pale a few shades. He had a bad feeling that she was going to be testing his defenses with her magic once he learned a spell, and that was not a pleasant thought. Even so, he did not shy away from the potential danger.

* * *

Out of breath and on his knee, Naruto could not help but be amazed. In his training with Akeno before, he had considered her to be a very powerful individual, despite not possessing a Sacred Gear or being a natural devil. But this most recent session of training had made him realize how little he knew of her power.

As he had predicted, the current training method she had in mind was to teach him a defensive spell and then to hammer away at his defenses until they broke. She usually added a spell in at the end as punishment for failing to hold her back.

While some people might have considered what she was doing to be wrong because of how much more powerful she was, he actually agreed with her training methods. They gave him the motivation to push himself to his limits.

That said, it was disheartening to see exactly how much stronger she was than he was. The first defensive spell that he used was destroyed with a single attack, which continued and struck him as though it had not even slowed down.

She taught him three defensive spells during the training session. One was most effective against offensive spells. One was most effective against physical attacks. And the last was somewhere between them.

Throughout the training session, he had come to find that he could defend against her with his spells, but his barriers were left nearly destroyed by a single one of her powerful spells.

She went on to prove that last fact just moments earlier when she cast two spells back to back, nearly destroying his barrier and then shattering what was left before hitting him.

She stood several dozen yards away from him with her hand outstretched, electricity still crackling around it. Radiating with power and beauty, Naruto could not help but find her breathtaking in that moment.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Akeno asked, realizing that he was hurt worse than before. She rushed towards him with a face full of concern. Despite her sadistic tendencies, she never actually meant to injure him.

"I should've used my Sacred Gear," Naruto said, forcing himself to his feet. He had never been hit by such a powerful spell before. Only the fallen angel's spear of light was that strong.

Shaking his head, he looked at her. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I should probably stop training for the day though."

"I'm really sorry. I expected that your barrier would break, but I thought it would weaken my spell enough so that it would leave you mostly unharmed."

"Calm down, Akeno-chan," he said, having finally caught his breath. "It's my fault too. If I broke that spell Rias-senpai cast, I could have easily dodged it. Or I could have activated my Sacred Gear. It would have stopped me from getting hurt too badly. I didn't even try to do anything after my barrier broke, so it's at least as much my fault as yours."

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked, visibly calming. The concern in her eyes was never diminished though.

"I'll be fine." There was no doubt that her spell had packed a punch, but he was a Rook. Withstanding a spell of that caliber was not beyond his limits. Once the spasms from the electricity running through his body came to a stop, he would be fine.

Akeno still appeared worried, but she nodded her head in understanding. Looking up at the position of the sun, something occurred to her. "I'm sorry, but I'm supposed to be returning to the old schoolhouse soon."

"I'll come with you," Naruto told her. The nearby Transportation Circle was the best option for returning to town, so it made sense to go with her. That was what he told himself, at least.

Akeno forced a smile as she looked at the hole her spell put in his shirt. Without another word, she led him to the Transportation Circle and made their way back to Kuoh Academy.

* * *

Naruto and Akeno arrived to the sight of Rias and Issei arguing. It appeared that he was trying to convince her to bring the group to the church and rescue the nun that he befriended from the fallen angel that had killed him.

Surprisingly, Rias actually slapped him when he finished talking.

"How many times do I have to repeat myself? No is no. I can't allow you to save that Sister."

"Then I will go by myself. I'm worried about the ritual thing. The Fallen Angels are doing something from behind the scenes. There's no guarantee of Asia's safety."

"Are you really that stupid? You will definitely be killed if you go. You won't be able to come back to life anymore. Do you understand?"

Rias was trying to talk calmly, but she was also talking to Issei as if she is warning him.

"Your actions will affect not only me but also the other members! You are a Devil of the Gremory group! You need to be aware of that!"

"Then let me out of this group. I'll go there as an individual." Issei's words surprised everyone, none more so than Rias, but she generally dealt well with surprises.

"I can't do that! Why don't you understand?" Exasperation could be heard in her voice as she spoke, but the odd thing was that she did not sound as angry as Naruto would have expected.

"I became friends with Asia Argento. Asia is my important friend. I won't abandon my friend!"

"That's a wonderful thing. I think it's amazing if you can say that face to face. But that is different than what we are talking about now. The relationship between a Devil and a Fallen Angel is not as simple as you think. The two sides have been glaring at each other for thousands of years. If you show them a single gap of weakness, they will come and kill us. They are our enemy."

Apparently, her calm and rational words could not get through to him though.

"Wasn't blowing away the enemy the Gremory's way of doing things?"

Words seemed to escape Rias at that moment, but that did not stop her from glaring at Issei, nor did it stop him from returning the favor.

He refused to back off and stared straight into her eyes.

"That girl was originally from God's side. She is a person that we cannot ever coexist with. Even if she went with the Fallen Angels, it doesn't change the fact that she is still the enemy of us Devils."

"Asia isn't our enemy!"

"Even if she isn't, she has nothing to do with us. Ise, you have to forget about her," Rias said, almost pleading.

Before anything further could be said, Akeno, who had left Naruto's side after arriving, made her way to her friend's side and began to whisper something that the others could not hear. Naruto make have been able to hear it if he used his Sacred Gear, but he was not about to use it to eavesdrop on them.

When she finished, Rias grew serious and looked at the members of the peerage.

"I have something urgent to do now. Akeno and I will go out for a bit."

The suddenness of the situation caught Naruto off guard, but he was not the only one.

"B-Bucho! I haven't finished talking-"

Issei was interrupted by Rias placing a finger to her lips.

"Ise, there are a couple of things I need to tell you. First off… you think that a Pawn is a weak piece, right? Am I right?"

He nodded his head quietly to her question.

"That's a big misunderstanding. Pawn has a special ability that no other pieces have. That ability is the Promotion."

She did not give him time to ask any questions before she continued.

"Just like the actual chess game, Pawns can change into other classes if they reach the opponent's base. They are able to promote to any other piece besides the King piece. Ise, when you step foot in the location I acknowledge as _enemy territory_, you are able to change into any piece besides the King."

From the light in Issei's eyes, it was easy to see that he was considering the possibilities.

"Since it hasn't been that long since you became a Devil, there are restrictions, so it's probably still impossible for you to be promoted to the ultimate piece, a Queen. But you could change to other classes. If you wish strongly for promotion within your heart, then there will be a change in your ability."

She turned her back to him before she spoke again.

"Also, there is one more thing. It's about the Sacred Gear. When you use your Sacred Gear, just remember this. Desire… Sacred Gears are driven with the power of desire. And it also determines the power of it as well. The stronger your desire, the stronger your Sacred Gear will respond to you."

Just before she reached the Transportation Circle with Akeno, she said one final thing.

"There's one last thing you should never forget, Ise. Even a Pawn can take down the King. This is basic in chess. This truth also applies for the Devils' chess pieces. You can become stronger."

She teleported away with Akeno once she was done speaking, leaving Issei with Koneko, Yuto, and Naruto.

Taking a deep breath, Issei started walking, intent on saving his friend.

"So… are you going now?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, I am. I have to go. Asia is my friend after all. I'm the one who has to save her."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Naruto asked with a grin, surprising Issei. "Even with your Sacred Gear and that _promotion_ of yours, you probably can't win. But together, we can."

Issei looked shocked, and the feeling only increased by the next words he heard.

"I'm going too," Yuto stated.

Issei was at a loss of words after hearing something unexpected.

"I don't know much about Asia-san, but you are my comrade. Even though Bucho said that, there's a part of me that respects your decision. Also, I personally don't like Fallen Angels and priests. I detest them."

Naruto smiled at hearing Yuto's words. He was reminded of something that he heard in a recent dream.

_"When a person has something important they want to protect… that's when they can become truly strong."_

Yuto was going along for the sake of his comrade… for the sake of someone he wanted to protect. It was the same with Naruto.

"Remember what Bucho said?" Yuto asked. "_When you step foot in the location I acknowledge as _enemy territory_, you are able to change into any piece besides the King._ So isn't she indirectly telling us that _I acknowledge that the Church is the location where the enemy of Rias Gremory is_?"

Realization dawned in Issei's eyes. Naruto had not fully realized that tidbit of information, only that she had fully expected Issei to go one way or the other.

"Bucho indirectly approved you to go. Of course, I think she also means that I should support you as well. Bucho may have some kind of plan. If not, she would have stopped you by locking you up somewhere," Yuto told him with a laugh.

"And I'm going to go because we're comrades," Naruto told him simply.

"I'm going as well."

Koneko's sudden words surprised all three of them.

"Koneko-chan?" Naruto asked curiously.

"…I feel uneasy having you three go alone."

"I'm touched! Right now, I'm so deeply touched, Koneko-chan!" Issei said, becoming emotional.

Koneko just brushed his words off, but it was easy to see that they embarrassed her all the same.

"Then let's go for a rescue mission with the three of us! Wait for us, Asia!" Issei said as he made his way to the door.

Naruto shook his head with a smile at seeing Issei's reactions. Before he followed Issei, however, he allowed his wings out, breaking the spell that Rias had cast on him earlier. He was not going to handicap himself, especially with how tender his body felt thanks to Akeno's spell earlier.

Like that, the four devils headed towards the church.

* * *

Author's Note: This is the second to last chapter of this arc. As this arc is so heavily focused on Issei, Naruto's role is diminished more than I'd like, but that's the cost of keeping both characters in roles of prominence. Things will be changing soon though. Starting with next chapter, you'll see more divergence from canon.

Just to be clear, I want to address a few things.

Probably the most minor of those things is the way Rias is being addressed. Some people may not be aware, but Bucho (_Buchō_ if you want to be precise) is essentially _Club President_. It's spelled as Buchou in the light novels and is usually used by itself but sometimes is used as a suffix, but I don't use that Romanization, just like I use Choji instead of Chouji, Hyuga instead of Hyuuga, etc.

Secondly, I want to remind everyone that this is a reincarnation story. The Naruto from the canon series did not get sent to another world and suffer from amnesia. He died and was reincarnated. When he became a devil, he started receiving memories from his past life in the form of dreams. At this point, most of those memories are fragmented though.

Third, this isn't a story where Naruto will be god-level. The only reason I gave him a Sacred Gear was because of all the strong characters that have Sacred Gears. Without one, he'd be at even more of a disadvantage than normal.

I think that's all that needs to be addressed, so I'll let you all go now. Thanks for reading and reviewing.


	7. First Contact

**7. First Contact**

Night had fallen and the four devils were examining the church from a good vantage point. No one had entered or exited the church since they arrived there.

However, the closer they came to the church, the more uneasy they felt. Issei was outright sweating from the nearness, while Naruto was merely on edge. Yuto and Koneko did not visibly react to it, but they had been devils longer.

They definitely noticed it though. Yuto even went as far as to say, "From this presence, it's certain that there is a Fallen Angel inside".

He removed something from his jacket and showed it to them. Apparently, he had the blueprints of the church.

"How did you get that?" Issei asked in surprise.

"Well, it's basic when you are going into the enemy's territory," Yuto told him casually. "Besides the sanctuary, there is also a dormitory. The sanctuary looks suspicious."

"So we can ignore the dormitory then?" Issei asked.

"Most likely. Most stray exorcist groups usually make some alteration to the sanctuary. They usually perform suspicious rituals under the sanctuary."

"Why?" Issei asked in genuine confusion.

"It's the place they used to respect as a holy place, and by doing something that rejects God there, it makes them satisfied because it's an insult to God. Because they loved God, because they were rejected by God, they purposely cast evil spells under the sanctuary as a representation for their hatred."

The answer made Naruto consider the vengefulness of the former followers of God. He had never really considered how much hate they must have had for him.

"The sanctuary is located right behind the entrance. I think we can go straight in. The problem is to find the door to the basement once we get in the sanctuary, and also if we can defeat the enemies that will be waiting for us."

Nothing more was said before they made their way to the front of the church.

They passed through the entrance and headed straight for the sanctuary. Instinctively, they knew that their presence had been noted by the fallen angels already.

Stepping into the sanctuary, they saw the altar and pews. Overall, it was an ordinary sanctuary. The candle lights and interior lamps lit the sanctuary.

Actually, it appeared that there was one change. Naruto was pretty sure that the statue of the cross was not supposed to include a headless man.

The sound of clapping filling the sanctuary suddenly.

A man walked out from behind the altar. With his distinctive white hair, Naruto assumed he was the exorcist that Issei encountered previously. The look on his face implied as much too.

"Well, I never met the same Devil twice before! You know, since I'm super strong, I cut Devils into pieces when I first meet them! Once I see them, I cut them up on the spot! I then kiss the corpse and say goodbye! That's how I used to live! But since you guys ruined my style, I'm so lost! That's no good. It's not good to interfere with my lifestyle! You guys piss me off! I hope you guys will die!"

He took a gun out, along with the hilt of a sword. Suddenly, a blade of light emerged from the sword, reminding Naruto of a lightsaber.

"You guys came to rescue Asia-tan, right? Hahaha! Devil are big hearted for coming to rescue a bitch like that who would even heal Devils! Well, just being entranced to a Devil should make that Sister die!"

Alarm was clear in Issei's eyes as he spoke.

"Hey! Where is Asia!?"

"Well, there is a hidden stairs under that altar. From there you can go to the place where they are doing the ritual."

They were all surprised to hear the exorcist so casually reveal the location of the hidden stairway. The sheer arrogance in the man's eyes was almost as surprising. Even against four devils, he appeared completely confident.

"Sacred Gear!" Issei exclaimed, summoning the red gauntlet on his left arm.

Naruto attempted to do the same, but before his Sacred Gear could form, he felt pain shoot through his body. He internally cursed, realizing that the source of the pain was the spot where Akeno's spell hit him earlier. His body couldn't handle the stress of using his Sacred Gear.

His failure went unnoticed as Yuto unsheathed his sword and Koneko lifted a pew above her head effortlessly.

"Get smashed," she said before she threw the pew at her with her incredible strength.

The exorcist casually jumped over the pew.

But he was not merely fighting one person.

With his incredible speed, Yuto came within range of the exorcist in the blink of an eye. The exorcist was no pushover though. Their blades met, producing sparks. Despite the exorcist's blade being made of light, it was still quite solid. It even sounded like it was metal as it pushed against Yuto's.

"Hmmm! Hmmm! Such a pain! Why are you guys so noisy!? I'm super very bad! I'm sorry for talking in a death language! Forgive me after you die!"

Yuto dodged a barrage of soundless bullets from the exorcist's gun while continuing to attack the enemy.

Even more amazing than Yuto, however, was the exorcist. Never before did Naruto think he would see a human fight on par with a Devil.

Despite Yuto's speed, the exorcist's reaction times were good enough that he can meet him blade for blade and still survive.

"Impressive. You are quite strong," Yuto complimented, smiling.

"Ahaha! You too! A Knight, huh? Not even a single blind spot! This is great! Yes, this is what I'm talking about! Lately, I haven't had an awesome battle like this! I was about to cry because of it! But now, I'm going to kill you!"

"Yuto, let me handle this," Naruto said, stepping forward. "If we waste too much time fighting this guy, we won't make it in time to save Issei's friend. I have a feeling that we don't have much time."

Naruto felt the eyes of Konko and Issei on him, but he did not look back.

"You are right," Yuto conceded. "Be careful though. This is not an enemy that you can be careless with."

"I won't," Naruto said, dashing towards the exorcist. He was unable to dodge the exorcist's gun, but he did not need to. Despite stinging, the bullets of light bounced off of him. Holes could be seen in his clothes, but he possessed the defense of a rook.

Lashing out with a fist, Naruto managed to hit the exorcist. He was able to lean back so that the hit barely touched him, but it was still enough to send him sliding backwards.

"Go!" Naruto ordered, keeping his eyes focused on the exorcist.

"Be careful," Koneko and Issei told him. Moments later, the altar was destroyed by Koneko's fist and the trio made their way down the stairs.

"You're pretty cocky," the exorcist said with a laugh. "I'm going to enjoy cutting out to pieces!"

He put his gun away and came at Naruto with his sword.

Naruto did not have the speed or reflexes to dodge the attack. Looking down, he could see where the blade of light pierced his stomach. He could feel where it came out of his back too.

He coughed blood into the exorcist's face and lashed out with his hands, sending the exorcist flying back and crashing into the wall. He could barely stop from collapsing from the pain of the exorcist's attack. It was much stronger than he had anticipated.

"Not bad, but you're going to die!"

Naruto knew that he would die if he did not do something different. He probably should have let Yuto continue to handle the exorcist instead of volunteering. As he was, he would lose, and none of his spells would have helped too much. His offensive spells lacked the speed to hit the exorcist, and he did not think he could pull up a defensive spell in time to block the exorcist's blade.

He only had one choice.

Taking a deep breath, he called forth his desires. At the forefront was his desperation to not only survive but to win.

He felt pain consume his body as his Sacred Gear materialized, but he did not so much as flinch. Pain was inconsequential in that moment.

"A Sacred Gear user?" the exorcist asked curiously.

"Yes," Naruto answered, glancing down for a moment. The fourth magatama had appeared. "I guess there's one good thing about this fight."

Suddenly, Naruto was standing in front of the exorcist with his hand around the exorcist's throat.

The exorcist's wide eyes revealed his shock. "But you're a rook! You're almost as fast as that knight."

Instead of answering, Naruto squeezed his hand and shattered the exorcist's sword hilt. With the hilt destroyed, the blade followed.

"I'm almost as fast as he was when you fought him, but he was just playing around," Naruto told him, shaking his head. "But this is the end."

Suddenly, the exorcist became aware of Naruto's right hand. A orb of red energy stood floating before it.

"Magic Bullet," Naruto intoned, blasting the exorcist through the wall and to the outside of the church.

Already, he was finding it harder to breathe. Shifting the focus of his Sacred Gear to defense, he found that he felt a little better, but the stress of his Sacred Gear on his injured body was not making things easy.

Quickly, he followed after the others down the stairs.

The sight he came to see when he reached the bottom of the stairs was not what he hoped to see though.

About ten exorcists, a fallen angel, and a girl in little clothing could be seen. The exorcists were holding his comrades off, while the fallen angel appeared to be doing a ritual. A magic circle could be seen on her chest, along with the girl's.

Quickly, he gathered his devil powers and shot it at the fallen angel as an overpowered Magic Bullet.

With ease, she created a spear made of light and sliced his spell in half before looking at him with utter disdain.

"So, it looks like Freed has been defeated," she noted. "He did not go down without a fight though."

"Naruto, are you okay?" Issei asked, looking at Naruto in shock. The bloody sword wound could be easily seen.

His words caught Yuto and Koneko's attention as well, though they were careful not to drop their guard. Even so, they looked worried and guilty.

Suddenly, everyone heard a voice that made them stop what they were doing.

"Raynare, may I ask what you think you're doing?"

The fallen angel looked more worried than Naruto could have imagined.

Looking behind him, he saw a man descending from the stairs. With half black and half blond hair and a beard on his chin, the main had a very distinctive look. He appeared laid back and calm at first, but his eyes revealed a fury that sent a shiver down Naruto's spine.

"Azazel-sama…" Raynare whispered.

That was not a name that Naruto wanted to hear. It belonged to one of the leaders of the fallen angels. It belong to a man that Rias had told him far exceeded the combined power of her entire peerage. Against a man of his caliber, death was guaranteed.

"Imagine my surprise when I heard that your group was causing problems with devils in the territory of the Gremory group. Going against my orders and killing the wielder of the Boosted Gear, attacking devils that serve one of the Seventy-Two Pillars in their territory, and even going so far as to plot behind my back to obtain Twilight Healing… you are lucky that I'm the only one that came here. Are you trying to start another war?"

As he finished speaking, a magic circle appeared next to Naruto. Rias and Akeno were standing in the center of it.

"I apologize for the trouble that my subordinates have caused you," Azazel said, looking at Rias. "You have my word that they will be punished for their transgressions."

"But Azazel-sama-" Raynare started.

"Enough!" Azazel said, making her grow frightened. "You will all report to headquarters. You do not want me to have to chase you down."

Slowly, the exorcists left the room. They were followed by Raynare, her ordered her to wait in the sanctuary for him.

Once it was just the peerage, Asia, and Azazel, he let out a sigh.

"Thanks for contacting me, Akeno. The last thing we need is a war to break out," Azazel said, looking at the Queen. It confused Naruto. He could not fathom how she knew a leader of the fallen angels.

She looked at him with distrust before she spoke. "I was just following orders." She glanced at Rias as she finished speaking.

"The last thing we need is a war between the devils and the fallen angels. From your reputation, I did not believe that they were following orders. Doing all of this in the territory where the sisters of two of the Satans reside… it is not your style."

"No, it's not," Azazel said, glancing at Asia for a moment. "I will leave now. There is an uneasy peace between our people, and I do not wish to cause any problems by staying here longer than necessary."

Just like that, he made his way back up the stairs.

After he was gone, Issei rushed to Asia's side.

"Naruto, what happened to you?" Rias asked in concern, taking in his appearance. The look of guilt on Akeno's face did not go unnoticed by either Rias or Naruto.

"I underestimated that damned exorcist. I'll be fine," Naruto said, explaining the situation in detail. He looked to Akeno before he spoke again. "Relax, it's not your fault. My Sacred Gear couldn't have stopped his sword anyways. At best, it can double my defense, and that wouldn't have helped much."

That did not completely take away the look of guilt on her face, but she did not say anything else.

"I can heal that," Asia said, catching their attention. She looked a little nervous as all their eyes rested on her.

"Are you sure?" Issei asked carefully. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm not hurt, and I can do this," she told him, making her way to Naruto.

Holding her hands up to his injury, he saw a ring form on each hand. A light came from the rings, and he felt the pain slowly leave him. After about a minute, he was completely healed.

"Thanks, I feel a hundred times better," he said, deactivating his Sacred Gear. While he felt tired after doing it, it did not knock him out like it would prior to her healing him.

"Tell me something, Asia," Rias said, catching her attention. "How would you like to join my peerage?"

* * *

In the end, Asia refused to become a devil. Despite being kicked out of the church, she still worshipped God too heavily to undergo a change that would bring her pain simply to pray. Rias actually accepted her decision and instead made a deal with her. If Asia served as the peerage's healer, she would be under their protection and Rias would take care of the problems that arose from the fallen angels no longer looking after her.

Naruto was not too concerned with the whole situation though. He was so exhausted from training for so long, using his Sacred Gear, and fighting the exorcist that all he wanted was to go to sleep.

Right after arriving at his apartment, he did just that too.

The moment that he was asleep, something unexpected happened though.

Instead of one of his unusual dreams, he found himself in an open expanse of white space. He was wearing the Kuoh Academy uniform. His eyes were focused on something that was a hundred yards away. Rather than something, it was someone. Dressed in an orange and black jumpsuit with a forehead protector that he recognized from his previous dreams, he saw himself.

"Hey Namikaze, I'm glad to see that you heeded my call," his alternate self said with a grin.

"Naruto Uzumaki?" Naruto asked, remembering the name that the alternate version of himself used in his dreams.

"Just call me Uzumaki, and I'll call you Namikaze. It'll be easier," his alternate self said, walking towards him. "I'm not good with complicated explanations, so I'll just come right out and say it. I'm your past life, and you're supposed to be my reincarnation."

Naruto was not sure what to say to that.

"Those dreams you've been having were my memories. I was hoping I could help you out, but I guess those memories didn't exactly come out whole. Now that we've met, I might be able to help you a little better though," Uzumaki said, looking a little sheepish.

"Why did I start getting those dreams after I became a devil?" Naruto asked, regaining his wits.

"Ah, well I didn't actually wake up until you touched that rook," Uzumaki replied. "I'm kind of surprised how different we are, to be honest. It took a war for me to calm down, and you're actually mature and smart. If I had told Sakura-chan that I'd be like you in my next life, I'd never have believed it." He laughed a little, thinking back on old times.

"I don't understand. So I'm actually a reincarnation of some guy from the past?" Naruto asked, unable to fully understand what was going on.

"I'm more than just some guy, but yeah," Uzumaki said, looking rather amused. "That's actually why you have Sennin no Magatama. I guess the guys that write those books about Sacred Gears would call it something else, but it seems like a better name to me."

"You know about my Sacred Gear?" Naruto asked in shock.

"Your Sacred Gear is one of a kind. No one else has ever had it. Well, I suppose it's actually based off of something that I had, but that's a story for another time," Uzumaki said, shaking his head. "The Sennin no Magatama will have six magatama when it's complete, so you've made good progress so far. You'll need to master it completely if you're going to use it so openly though. If anyone realizes who you are, you're going to be getting a lot of attention, and most of it will be bad. Anyways, I think that's enough for tonight. If you ever want to talk, you'll find me when you dream. You and I… we're the same. We share this soul, and I'll always help you if I can."

And with that, Naruto found himself falling from the expanse of white space into one of the few normal dreams that he had experienced as a devil.

It seemed that he was going to wake up with more questions than he went to sleep with.

* * *

Author's Note: I hate writing with a headache. My goal was to finish the first arc with this chapter though.

As you see, I went a different route than most people. Azazel has been introduced early, Asia is not yet a devil (though she can easily become one in the future), and Raynare is still alive. All three will have important roles in this story.

I look forward to seeing what everyone thinks of this chapter in general. Oh, and just a reminder to people... if you flame anonymously, I can reject your reviews before they are even posted. Or I can edit them and make them say whatever I want. Honestly, most flames make me think of a second grader getting mad at someone, so I end up more amused than hurt or even annoyed when I get them.

Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing.


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